


A Soldier of No Importance

by silmarilz1701



Series: A Tale of Two Heritages [1]
Category: Band of Brothers (TV 2001)
Genre: A burn so slow you can't even see the fire, Alternate History, D-Day is at 100k, Episode: s01e01 Currahee, Episode: s01e02 Day of Days, Episode: s01e03 Carentan, Episode: s01e04 Replacements, Episode: s01e05 Crossroads, Eventual Romance, Found Family, French Resistance, Gen, German characters, Holocaust, Jewish Character, Loss of a sibling, Male-Female Friendship, Military Training, Past Sexual Assault, Period Typical Bigotry, Period-Typical Sexism, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship, Sibling Love, Slow Burn, the slowest of burns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:20:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 69
Words: 150,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21735937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silmarilz1701/pseuds/silmarilz1701
Summary: Being in the French Resistance wasn't what Alice Klein envisioned her life looking like. She'd wanted a husband and a flat in Paris, and maybe a cat with a pink bow who would sleep on her piano. But bullets didn't discriminate between male or female, young or old. Alice knew that better than most. As a half-German, half-French Jew, it seemed no matter where she went, she was hated. To the German army or Vichy France, she was a traitor. To any uneducated Allied soldier, her last name screamed Nazi.When the Maquis heard of the Allies looking for connections to the French Resistance, they'd quickly offered up Alice as a translator and liaison. Whisked away from the French Alps, she arrived in the States to train as a paratrooper, knowing that failure was not an option no matter how much she disliked it.Lucky for her, she didn’t just find barracks and training grounds in America. She found men, and in them, family to replace the one she’d lost.
Relationships: Lewis Nixon/Original Female Character(s)
Series: A Tale of Two Heritages [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1572553
Comments: 119
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated:
> 
> To the real men of Easy Company, the heroes of the 506th, and all World War Two veterans. May we never forget their endless sacrifices. They were heroes, even if they would never admit to it.
> 
> To Natalya Kovshova, Mariya Polivanova, Virginia Hall, Simone Segouin, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Freddie Oversteegan, Truus Oversteegan, Hannie Schaft, Małka Zdrojewicz, Bluma Wyszogrodzka, Rachela Wyszogrodzka, Zinaida Portnova, and to all the "women of no importance" in World War Two, who helped win back peace for their countries and for the world. May they rest knowing their sacrifices won the world freedom.
> 
> And to my Uncle Mike, a Staff Sergeant radio op aboard the C-47s on D-Day, without whose bravery and skill the Paratroopers could not have been taken to Normandy.
> 
> Disclaimer:
> 
> This story is based on the HBO series Band of Brothers. While the characters portrayed are historically present, there are discrepancies between the show and the real Easy Company. When possible, I will be informing the HBO characters with the biographies of the real men who served. However in any case where history and show contradict, the show canon will take precedence.
> 
> While research is being done by the author, nothing written is claimed to be one hundred percent historically or medically accurate. Women were not fighters for the USA in WWII, but the French Underground and the Soviet Partisans had women in combat situations. This story is inspired by them, and the women spies of WWII employed by many nations.

**July 1942**

_The United States of America_

* * *

The train car certainly smelled better than New York City. After spending over a year living in and operating from the Alps, Alice had forgotten how stuffy and filled with stench the cities were. Somehow she recalled Paris and Hamburg differently, but perhaps this was due to nostalgia. Her home had been wonderful before the Nazis.

With her forehead against the glass window, Alice continued her slow, content breathing. The sky outside had darkened so now only a few streaks of color lit the sky. Her eyelids drooped. No matter how hard she tried to keep herself awake, it felt like midnight to her. Still, her instincts to keep valuables in sight at all times wasn't easily overcome. Not that she had much, of course. In her bag sat a handful of trail nuts, four outfits including one dress, her dark red beret, a bit of make up she'd picked up in London, and a wad of American cash. No, she didn't have much at all.

The steady click-clack of the wheels slowed. Alice forced her head off the glass. A small mark remained. Her gaze flicked around the car. The young man who had boarded the train at New York with her sat against the wall, head back. Lying carefully propped between his bent legs was a comic book. She didn't think he'd seen her yet. A steady stream of smoke wafted from his lit cigarette. The smell made her inhale deeply, eyes closed in contentment.

The train had only been moving for about two hours. When three young men entered the car quietly, she readjusted in her seat. One hand stayed on her pistol in her pants pocket. Alice forced herself back to looking down into her book, pretending to stay busy. Perhaps they wouldn't talk to her, then.

"Hey Blondie, wan' some company?"

No luck. Alice raised her head and looked up at the man in question. She let an eyebrow raise and flashed a tense smile. "No, thank you."

"Where you from?" The man persisted. A thick, brown cigar dangled from his mouth. His smile had dropped.

Alice's jaw clenched. She had never quite gotten rid of her Germanic accent, even though it had mixed with French long ago. "I'm traveling from London."

"Ya' don't sound British to me-"

"Hey, Gordon, leave the broad alone. She don't want 'cha company, yah idiot."

Alice peered over the seats to where the other man had spoken. He looked about the same age, fairly young. His dark hair matched equally dark eyes. With a quick wink her way, he grabbed his grumbling friend down the train car. Finally free of them, Alice relaxed. Again she felt the tug of sleep.

Minutes passed. The click-clack and wobble of the train car returned. By now, darkness had fully fallen. The small, flickering light over her head was the only thing keeping her awake. Even with that, sleep inched in.

"You look tired."

Alice glanced up from her book. The young man who had been reading his comic stood next to her, leaning against an empty row. He had a gentle smile, though the alluring cigarette had gone out.

"I am fine," she assured him.

But he just chuckled, keeping his voice down, and slid into the seat across from her. "Sure, sure. Any idiot can see you tryin' to stay awake. And that book there ain't doing it." He glanced at the title across the top of the page. Then he furrowed his brow. "Is that French?"

"Indeed."

The man's smile grew and he leaned over his crossed arms. The table moved at his sudden shift. "I'm George. George Luz." When she didn't respond, he shrugged. "I don't blame you wanting to stay awake. There can be dangerous guys hanging around."

"So I figured."

"Wait, me?" George laughed but tried to keep his voice down best he could. "I mean, well, shoot. I promise I'm better than those guys from earlier. What's your name?"

Somehow, she believed him. Years of deceiving the Nazis had made her a pretty good judge of character and she knew it. "Alice."

"Pleasure." He flashed her a wink that just made her smile and shake her head. "So. What's the book?"

She smiled and closed it, remembering her page number. _Quatre-vingt-dix-huit_. "It's called Les Misérables."

"Never heard of it." But after a moment he changed the topic. "Anyways what's a French girl visiting from England doing on a train in the US of A?"

The question hung in the air for a moment. With only the sounds of the train around them, she hesitated. Who knew how many of the other handful of men were listening? She guessed most slept, but had no way of knowing. Briefly the bulb over their heads flickered.

"I'm visiting Georgia," she finally settled on. "There is a job offer for me."

"No fu- freakin' way?" He caught himself. Then he grinned again. "I'm going to Georgia! Joining up to kill some Nazis."

Alice forced herself to smile. The Americans certainly sounded eager, whenever she caught wind of the war discussions. Especially the young men: they didn't seem to fully grasp what they spoke about. While she considered her response, he drew out a pack of cigarettes and offered her one. Alice took one gratefully.

"But I guess, being from France and all, you see them, huh?"

Americans. Alice didn't have time to cover her mouth before a light laugh escaped her. She saw the corners of George's eyes crinkle in a smile. She just rolled her eyes. Leaning back against her seat, Alice hummed. The laughter died. "Yes. There is almost nowhere in France where they won't find you."

George lit her cigarette with his small lighter. Then he lit his own. The smoke wove its way through the air and filled the train car. A slight haze fell around them. Exhaustion crashed into her like a brick wall. The struggle to keep her eyes open only got worse. George seemed to ramble on, not noticing, and she found it hard to follow him. He talked quickly.

Instead she focused what little energy she had left on her cigarette. The smoke burned her throat as she drew it in. With each breath, she released it slowly. The monotony only made her more tired. Finally, she realized that George had stopped talking. He watched her in amusement.

"Guess I could only keep you entertained for so long," he joked. "Tell you what. You sleep, I'll make sure those guys don't steal your stuff."

Certainly a tempting offer. Alice paused for a moment and studied him. Her gut feeling from earlier still remained. As her breathing continued to slow involuntarily, trying to lull her to sleep, she finally nodded. "Thank you. Don't steal my stuff."

George just laughed. As she moved up against the window again, he put his legs up across the row, under the small table. The light flicked off. Listening to the prattle of the train wheels, Alice slept.

When she woke up, the sun shone through the windows. She checked her watch. 09:45. To her left and across the table, George had fallen asleep too. But the sun hadn't woken her. The train had slowed down, the noise changing. When it finally stopped with a jolt, George woke up too.

"Have a good sleep?" Alice joked. She looked outside at the station sign. It was her stop, just outside Toccoa. "I am afraid this is my stop."

George rubbed his eyes. Suddenly he sprang up. "It's mine too!"

It didn't surprise Alice in the least. He'd mentioned Georgia and killing Nazis. Camp Toccoa was on their route. He grinned at her and grabbed his stuff, a single duffle bag like hers. Neither wasted any time in leaving the train and stepping out onto the small platform.

Georgia's summer had already begun, and they could feel it. Muggy, sticky air assaulted them. In the sun, it baked them. A few mosquitos landed on Alice almost immediately. She grimaced. Running a hand through her hair, she sighed. Suddenly a jeep pulled up, army green, with a young man in uniform driving it.

"I will see you at Camp Toccoa," Alice said. She flashed George a smile.

"You're going to Camp Toccoa?" The amazement in his voice increased. "It's a paratrooper training camp. What are you gonna do there?"

Alice didn't answer. She left George Luz standing in shock on the platform. Behind him, the train moved three dozen other men meandered around the area. With a quick wave goodbye, she walked up to the jeep.

"Alice Klein?" asked the man. He hopped out of the jeep. It didn't take long before he'd hoisted her bag into the back.

"Correct." She smiled. He was a private, based on his rank insignia. "Private?"

"Private Vest, ma'am."

The ride to Camp Toccoa didn't take long. It passed silently. Alice didn't feel much like talking. Her stomach churned. It made no sense, and she chastised herself. She fought Nazis on a regular basis. Here she only had to deal with allies. Still, the thought of having to make her way into a male dominated world worried her. A good amount of women were Maquis. No women were in the army.

And still there would be none. The agreement with the Americans was that she wouldn't actually exist. Her intel would remain classified, and any acknowledgement of her experiences would remain within the confines of whatever battalion she joined. Not that Alice particularly minded. A safe life came from a quiet life. She'd seen too many people die on account of loud Underground operatives.

Before long, the jeep pulled into camp. Dozens of men meandered about, chatting in small groups or doing stretches. Alice didn't miss their shocked expressions as she exited the car. One or two cat calls followed her. She ignored them. Instead, she followed Private Vest.

"Colonel Sink is waiting for you," he explained. Lifting up her luggage, he smiled. "I'll take this bag wherever it needs to go when I get an order."

She thanked him. Vest knocked on a door at the end of the hallway they entered. A voice called for them to enter. Alice stepped inside.

"Colonel Sink, sir." Vest nodded. "Alice Klein."

The man behind the desk stood up. He had a kind smile and slightly wrinkled face framed by dark, greying hair and mustache. Alice raised her hand in salute and he returned it. Vest left the room.

"Welcome to Toccoa, Miss Klein. Hope your trip wasn't too hard?" Sink gestured for her to sit as he did the same.

Alice shook her head. "It was fine, sir. Once I got out of France, little went wrong except one U-Boat scare."

"Good, good. Well I'm glad you're here. I know the British explained your mission. You're here for intelligence for the Battalion and for combat experience."

"Yes, sir."

"I'm placing you in Easy Company. It has some of the finest officers in the 506th." He paused. "Since you've been with the Underground, I assume you have some experience sleeping in the same area as men?"

Alice smiled. She let out a light laugh. "Yes, sir. We slept where we could."

"Good. Then hopefully this won't go too poorly. I tell yah though, if any of the men give you trouble, let me know. I'll deal with it, personally."

"Thank you, sir."

Sink smiled again. With a quick nod, he called for Vest. The man entered quickly. At the Colonel's direction, he stood aside to show Alice her bunk. With a quick salute, she left Colonel Sink behind.


	2. Chapter Two

The Georgia summer hit her smack in the face as she left HQ. Once again it felt like swimming through the air. Beads of sweat trickled down her neck as she followed Private Vest across the compound. Alice could feel the stares that followed her. Keeping her eyes straight forward, she finally came to a building marked with an " **E.** "

They walked up the two wooden steps and Vest opened the door. He peeked inside to make sure anyone there looked decent. After a moment he gestured for her to follow. Murmurs along the lines of "what's a fuckin' broad doin' here" followed her. Once the door shut, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

The room had ten wooden beds on each side. At the foot of each bed sat a footlocker, crafted of dark leather. A fan circled overhead offering only slight relief. Three men chatted inside. To her surprise, she recognized two of them. George Luz sat lacing up his boots, and the man who'd dragged away the boisterous friend was the other. The third she did not recognize.

They looked up. Alice crossed her arms over her chest. Their discussion died immediately.

"This is Alice Klein, she'll be joining you on Colonel Sink's orders," Vest explained. "He says that anyone who has a problem can take it to him."

She appreciated him recognizing the men might need a bit of encouragement to treat her right. Not that she didn't intend to earn that trust, though. She would.

Vest turned to her. "We'll bring fatigues for you. Colonel Sink is still deciding what rank to give you."

"Thank you."

With that, he left the still silent room. Alice took another deep breath. As the men and she had a silent standoff, George finally cracked a smile. She glanced at him.

"So, that's the job offer? You're gonna be a paratrooper?" He walked over and tossed her a cigarette.

Alice appreciated the gift. When he lit it for her, she nodded. "Apparently."

"No offense, but what in the hell are they doing letting a girl in the Army?" The dark haired, dark eyed, well built man from the train asked it as he too stood from his bunk.

"They believe I will be of assistance in several areas. Translating, intelligence, navigation, and sharpshooting." At their silence, she flashed a small smile. "I do not know how much I am allowed to tell. I am part of the Underground, specifically in France."

"No fuckin' way."

George laughed, shocked as well. He turned to the man who had been from the train. "That's Bill Guarnere. This is Joe Toye."

She shook their hands. "Call me Alice, it is what I go by in the English speaking world, a nom de guerre."

"What's your real name?" Joe Toye's voice sounded husky, deeper than she expected. He had joined them a moment ago, shaking her hand in a firm grip.

"And what the hell's a nom de guerre?"

Alice just laughed at both Joe and Bill. "A nom de guerre is a name used in operations. A sort of code name or pseudonym to protect us. As for my real name, that will stay my secret."

"Mysterious." George winked at her then gestured to the beds. "Joe was telling us about the bunks."

Joe nodded and gestured to the beds. He listed off several names of Easy Company's second platoon, where she'd been placed. The only one to stand out to her was Joseph Liebgott. A German surname. A small smile tugged at her lips as she found herself hoping he spoke the language. She hadn't spoken German to anyone but the Nazis in six years.

"There are still a few empty beds."

She followed Joe to the end of the barracks. The last two beds on the left side hadn't been claimed. Alice took the corner. She took the small pistol from her pants and laid it on the footlocker. It had only a single bullet, for safety. Then she organized her clothes and placed her beret safely at the bottom.

Both George and Bill had started doing the same. Suddenly she felt very out of place looking around. It was true that in the Maquis, shared living spaces meant everyone slept together. She'd gotten used to them, her own little family. These men in Easy were not family. The prospect of changing clothes surrounded by men who rarely got to see a woman did not appeal to her.

As she surveyed the barracks, frowning, the door opened and two men marched in. Both relatively tall, the left had dark hair and the right, auburn-red. The dark haired man had clearly said something funny because he was laughing, and his friend shook his head with a small smile. At their entrance, Joe Toye saluted, and the other two men followed. Alice stiffened. But the red haired man, a lieutenant, told them to stand at ease.

"Alice Klein?"

She walked over, head high. "Yes sir." She saw in his hands a set of fatigues. "I assume those are for me?" Both men were looking her up and down.

"Yeah, courtesy of Colonel Sink." The dark haired man walked over and extended a hand. "Lewis Nixon, and this is Dick Winters."

"Nice to meet you both. I am Alice Klein, operative for the French Underground."

Nixon smiled. "Maquis operative and lieutenant in the United States army." He took the fatigues from Dick. With a quick gesture, he showed her the insignia.

She raised her eyebrows. "Lieutenant? I am surprised they would give me such a rank."

Dick frowned. "According to the Colonel, you're to be afforded the security clearance of a lieutenant, but he was unable to secure other benefits. You'll sleep with the enlisted and take orders from the other officers."

That made more sense. Alice bit her lip for a moment and nodded. She was here to help free Europe, not to battle sexism in the United States. But then she stopped. "Is there some place I can change?"

"We can get you an extra blanket to use as a curtain," Nixon suggested.

"Thank you. Until then, I will use my own." She had seen some places that the blanket could be tucked into the wooden slat walls. "I would like to change before more of the men show up."

Dick nodded. He and Nixon took the blanket from her and fixed it to the wall. As she had suspected, new nails were necessary. A few spare ones could be pried from unused slats. When a small corner space had been made, she nodded.

"Do you want us to stay while you change," Dick asked.

Alice smiled brightly. She appreciated the offer. The two officers seemed like good men. But then she glanced at the enlisted men who had been chatting across the way. "If one of my new bunk mates agrees to stand watch, then I think it would be unnecessary." She had to get them involved, to trust her. And she hoped by showing them trust, she would earn theirs.

George, who had clearly been listening in, volunteered. "We'll make sure no one messes with her, sirs."

"See you do," Dick agreed. "We'll talk to you all later. Easy Company should all be here by dinner."

Nixon nodded. "Then you get to meet your C.O."

Alice didn't miss the looked shared between the two lieutenants. Something about the C.O. clearly didn't sit well with Nixon at least. They left together, and Alice stood with her fatigues in hand. Nixon had set boots in her size at the foot of the bed for her. She slipped her shoes off and then stepped behind the curtain.

To her pleasant surprise, the clothes actually fit relatively wall. The pants, especially, fit correctly. The shirt was a little harder. It fell slightly too large. But it wasn't anything she couldn't deal with. Finally she stepped out of the makeshift cover and placed her clothes in the footlocker. Then came the boots. As she sat at the foot of her bed, loud voices came closer to the barracks. George, Joe, and Bill went to see who was coming.

A handful of men barreled into the room. The one in front had his back to them, but he stood tall and skinny. Behind him, a shorter guy also with dark hair, and behind him, two tall, light haired men.

"Man look," said the shortest of the newcomers. He pushed the tall, dark haired man in front to look around.

Alice looked up at them from where she had finished her second boot. Their laughter had died down, and they all stared at her the same way the boys from earlier had. Alice stood.

"Gentlemen," she said. With a quick nod, she moved closer.

"What's a fuckin' broad doing here?"

She glanced up at the tall one on the right in the back. He had light brown hair. Worry lines creased his face. "I'm Lieutenant Alice Klein."

"Lieutenant?"

She nodded. None of them saluted. A knot formed in her chest. This would be harder than she hoped or anticipated.

"Joe Liebgott," said the one in front.

The others introduced themselves. The short one's name was Frank Perconte, an Italian American with dark hair and olive skin. Behind him were Skip Muck and the brash light haired Roy Cobb. As they studied her, Bill Guarnere and George Luz added their introductions to the men.

"She's a Resistance fighter!" George grinned and gestured to Alice.

Alice rubbed her forehead. "Yes."

"A German Resistance fighter?" Liebgott stared her down fiercely. "You're fighting your own people?"

"She's french-"

But Alice cut him off. She walked up closer to Liebgott. "I am half German, yes. And half French. Not all Germans are Nazis, you know."

But the fire in his eyes didn't fade. The man held a lot of anger. He reminded her of her eldest brother, Robert. She'd have to watch him.

"No, I didn't fucking know."

"Your last name, it is German-"

"Austrian."

She paused. Austrian. That would explain the hostility towards Germans. Her muscles relaxed, and she unfolded her arms.

"Why are you here, Lieutenant?" The sarcasm practically dripped from his voice.

"As a prominent member of the French Underground, I'm to aid your battalion in missions as a translator and sharpshooter, among other plans." Her gaze flicked between Liebgott and the other newcomers. "Hopefully you'll be able to learn a lot." She went to leave, before turning back to the group. Liebgott had recognized her accent as German immediately. She decided to try speaking to him in the language. "Hoffentlich kann ich dir beibringen nicht alle Deutschen zu hassen. Ich entschuldige mich für die Taten meiner Landsleute."

He seemed surprised. As the others looked between Alice and Joe Liebgott, he narrowed his eyes and refused to answer. Her heart beat a little faster as she moved past the men and left the barracks. She could feel the tops of her ears burning as catcalls followed her way into the main area.

" _Hopefully, I can teach you not to hate all of us Germans. I apologize for the actions of my people_." She hoped he would take her up on the offer. Living in the amount of anger he felt was unhealthy. She had seen it first hand.


	3. Chapter Three

After taking a weapon for training, Alice went to check out the grounds. It became natural to block out the shouts around her. The jeers faded into the background. Before long she'd found a long field with training dummies. Settling herself on the ground, she cocked her rifle.

Deep breaths. Alice let her hand settle on the trigger. She looked down the sights. With a tiny smile, she imagined the dummy with a swastika on its head and an SS badge over the heart. All her anger focused on that one training dummy. She pulled the trigger. The air cracked from the bullet.

Alice barely registered the knockback. The bullet had gone straight through the head. She readied her next shot. Three inches down, straight through the neck. The air cracked. The rifle kicked back.

The bullet hole sat three inches down, straight through the neck. Alice smiled. Five inches down, left chest, over the heart. Again, the bullet rang out and again it hit her imaginary target.

Suddenly a shot rang out from her right. She whipped her head sideways. A few men had settled down with their own rifles. Another smile spread across her face. At least she motivated them. Not exactly how she intended to, but it motivated them nonetheless. Alice pushed herself to her feet and moved away to watch. She hummed to herself happily. Placing the gun back into the storage area and emptying the ammo, Alice tried to slip away as best she could.

"What are you laughing about?"

Alice turned to find Nixon sitting on a crate eating a green apple. Dick Winters sat next to him, gaze raised from his book. They both looked at her in amusement.

"It seems all I have to do to motivate your men to practice is to do something first." She couldn't stop her smile. Alice meandered over and watched the men across at the training field. "It is too bad I can't afford them hating me forever."

"They don't hate you," Winters argued. "They just…"

With a laugh, she shook her head. "You misunderstand me. I don't mind. I know anger is a powerful motivational tool. I just hope that by the time we go back to France that they feel they can trust me."

"Yeah, well. They'll warm up to yah. Give them a chance."

She hummed in agreement at Nixon's words. Then she smiled again, looking up at the clear sky. She closed her eyes. Despite the unnatural heat of Georgia, she liked it. "It is nice to be in a country without Nazis or the threat of Luftwaffe. Perhaps someday Hamburg will be free from them again."

"What've you done in America so far?"

Alice opened her eyes and turned to Nixon. "Not much. I arrived in New York City yesterday afternoon, boarded the train south, and got here a little over an hour ago."

Winters smiled, but Nixon looked at her incredulously. "That's it?"

"Yes. To be quite frank, I have found most Americans… frustrating. I wasn't exactly looking for company. Though that one, George Luz, insisted on talking to me on the train down here."

"Well, today's Friday."

"Yes."

"We all have tonight and the weekend off while the brass finish assigning people. There's the PX on base, or Atlanta about an hour from here." He paused. "How old-"

"Nix."

But Alice just chuckled. "Twenty-one. Which I believe is how old one must be in America to drink, no?"

"You could come with us." At the objection that Dick was about to raise, Nixon amended his statement. "Or, go with the enlisted, if Dick here refuses to go to the PX."

Winters turned to her. "I don't drink."

"We will see. You two seem to be some of the least objectionable Americans I have met so far." When they stared at her, she just laughed. "Clearly my humor isn't quite American yet. I've spent too much time with the British army."

Winters just chuckled and shook his head. "What do you think of us so far?"

Alice frowned. She looked around, her gaze roaming over the men that mulled about. Then she turned back. "Americans? To be honest, Lieutenants, America is about five years late in my opinion. But, at least the New World is finally taking a stand." Then she smiled and watched the men she'd met from Easy Company rough housing. "And you are brash, eager. Perhaps too eager. We will see."

"And you're only twenty-one?" Nixon laughed. "Kid you talk like you're all grown up!"

"I've been fighting Nazis one way or another since I turned sixteen. Things have escalated quickly in the last two years in France. One of our most important contacts had to flee across the mountains, and countless more have been killed. I was forced to grow up quickly." Alice paused. Then she turned back to Nixon and Dick Winters. "You'll see. Someday, when you're trained, I'll get to go back home. Then you'll understand what you'll be fighting for. Not just revenge on the Japanese. But freedom."

Silence followed. The slosh of Nixon sipping from his flask became the only sound. They watched the enlisted.

Soon, Winters and Nixon were both called away by Vest. Apparently Colonel Sink wanted to talk to them. Alice remained. She leaned against the crates. Thoughts of home swirled through her mind. The Champs-Élysées in winter, street lamps casting a warm glow in the otherwise freezing, snowy boulevard. Robert and Marc playing with baby Bernadette. She could picture the white stone of the Sacré-Cœur. Notre Dame's gothic beams reared up into the sky.

And if she reached back a little further, she could see the Elbe River. She could see it, just on the edge of her memories. Hamburg, before Hitler had been elected. Hamburg, before they had persecuted the Jews. Hamburg, the beautiful.

"Hey dollface, come play with us!"

Her eyes snapped open. A few large men stood in a half circle. As she considered how to respond, three large bells rang out. The men turned back and laughed at her. As they walked away towards what she assumed to be the Mess Hall, she stayed put.

A few hundred men spilled out from barracks and training fields. Formal training hadn't begun yet. They still had a few days. But most of the recruits had shown up already. She caught sight of Bill Guarnere, Joe Toye, and George Luz laughing as they followed the crowd. Her heart sped up. She could feel the anxiety crawling over all over her. It tingled. As her breathing quickened, Alice wondered what to do.

On the one hand, she needed to get to know Easy Company. On the other, the prospect of sitting in a Mess Hall with several hundred men having had a conversation with a single one did not appeal to her. Winters and Nixon still hadn't come by. Finally, she forced herself off the crates. As the last few men trickled into the Mess Hall, she followed.

She grabbed a cup of water and found an empty table near corner. Food could wait. The wooden hall echoed with the laughs and shouts of hungry soldiers. To most she was invisible, to the others she was a joke. Alice did her best to comfort herself with the knowledge that of all the hundreds of soldiers in that Mess Hall, only one person had fought Nazis.

She controlled her breathing. Control the breathing, control the fear. With each breath she tried to remember the sounds of the Alps. It took effort to block out the ruckus around her. She tried to remember the gurgling streams and chirping birds. The few moments of peace between planning sabotage or assassinations.

When a tray slammed down across from her, she jumped. It wasn't her brightest moment. Alice rubbed her forehead as George laughed. He slid her a piece of bread as he got to work on the soup lunch. When Bill and Joe Toye sat on his left and right, she eyed them curiously.

"Surprised?" George laughed.

Alice flashed them a small smirk. "I am slightly surprised, yes."

"So, you've fought Nazis."

Her hesitation lasted longer than she'd meant it to. She'd fought them, she'd killed them, she'd manipulated them. But she'd also been manipulated by them, been persecuted, been attacked. She'd watched friends die. The prospect of trying to explain it all at a Mess Hall table didn't calm her down at all.

"Luz, give the lady a rest."

She shot Toye a small smile. To her surprise, someone sat down on her left. Joe Liebgott's tall frame cast a shadow over her cup of water. Beyond him, Skip Muck sat down and Cobb across from him.

"Anyone going to the PX tonight?" Liebgott asked the guys who had sat down with them. He shoved a spoonful of soup into his mouth.

As the men all added their two cents, Alice listened carefully. Most of them had said yes. She considered it herself. Again, pros and cons filled her mind. It could be a good bonding experience. It could also end up a disaster.

Then again, the last time she'd been dancing had been almost two years ago, when Robert and Marc had insisted on taking their little sister out for a swing. It'd been dangerous. All were wanted for acting out against the Nazis. She'd been caught with anti-Nazi leaflets, and they'd missed curfew. But for her birthday, he and Marc wanted to risk it.

But of course, that had ended in disaster. She remembered the blood on her hands as she looked up from the SS officer's lifeless body. Robert's still face as they both hesitated. The knife had stuck out of the man's body at an odd angle. She remembered the thrill, and then the terror. She remembered the gunshot.

"Alice?"

She glanced up. George, both Joes, and Bill were staring at her. Suddenly she found her appetite gone. All desire to go get food as the men finished left her. She forced a smile and excused herself.

The door slammed closed behind her as she hurried outside. The smack made her jump. Her feet carried her away from the Mess Hall. Before she realized where she'd gone, she walked into the barracks she'd been assigned. Alice walked slowly through the hot, stuffy room until she reached her cot. Without hesitation, she threw open the footlocker and rifled through to her beret. Tucked in the underside, a small black and white, worn photo rested. Alice pulled it out.

On the front, her brothers held their arms around her. Robert's golden hair and blue eyes made him the perfect Aryan specimen, like her. Marc had the dark hair and brown eyes of their mother. Bernadette hadn't gone with them. They kept the young girl out of anything involving resistance. They hadn't even let her listen to Radio Londres. As her older brothers stood smiling, her grin lit up the room. She remembered the dress. Red. For that night at the club, she'd forgotten about the occupation. She turned it over.

_Vive la résistance!_

_Robert Adélaïde Marc_

A few tears dripped down her cheeks as she held the worn out photo paper. After that night, three had became two. They'd fled into the night, joined the Maquis. If she'd looked back, fleeing Paris, she feared turning to a pillar of salt. If not a pillar of salt, then definitely she feared being dragged away and murdered, or sent to wherever Jews had been exiled to.

A yawn escaped her. With a knife under her pillow, Alice laid down. When the memories hit, she squeezed her eyes shut. Instead, she focused on the story of _Cendrillion_ , the young woman with nothing who gained a prince. Her mother had read the story to her every night as a child, both in Hamburg and Paris. When she recited the words to herself, she could almost hear Mama.


	4. Chapter Four

Alice heard laughing when she woke up. The time difference between London and Toccoa had wrecked her sleep schedule. She faced the wall where her tiny changing space had been created. She didn't move. Instead she listened. A few of the men she could recognize: Guarnere, Luz, Toye, and Liebgott. But there were others, new voices she hadn't heard before.

As she listened to them tell stories from home, she felt herself nodding off again. In the middle of George talking about when one of his younger sisters had gone on her first date, she smiled to herself. But still, she stayed on her side.

"But wait, can we get back to the fact that we're gonna have to serve with a girl?"

Someone snorted. The rest laughed. Instantly, all her fatigue evaporated. 

"And she's a fucking German."

Liebgott. Internally, Alice sighed. She'd hoped she'd gotten through to him. Clearly she had more work to do.

"The broad's fought more Nazis than either 'a you." 

A small smile formed when she heard Guarnere's defense. She wondered what they'd come back at her next with.

"We don't actually know that she's killed any Nazis," Liebgott reminded them. 

Alice decided enough was enough. She rolled herself over, propping herself on her arm. "You could just ask the 'fucking German broad'." 

At her voice, they all whipped around. Guarnere and Luz snickered, Liebgott seemed miffed, and Toye looked put out. The others froze. She couldn't stop herself from smirking.

"How long were you listening?" George asked.

"Long enough." Standing, she walked over to where they sat playing poker over a cot. "I see there are new people?"

"Don Malarkey, ma'am." He shook her hand. Running a hand through his red hair, he looked at her sheepishly. He'd been the one to bring her up first.

She met Bull Randleman and Johnny Martin next. The former stood large, muscular and tall. The latter had an expression of pure annoyance on his face.

"So, you kill any of your people, Lieutenant?" Again, Liebgott's use of her rank oozed sarcasm.

"My people? No. Nazis? Yes."

He just muttered under his breath. "Fucking same thing."

Joe Toye rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ."

"Verdammt. Hitler ist Österreicher!" she snapped at Liebgott.

The room stilled as Alice glared down at the sitting Liebgott. He shot her his own death stare. Clearly being reminded that Hitler was an Austrian had shut him up. But neither moved. They could hear only the breathing of themselves and the men around them.

Finally Bull interrupted. "But you have killed Nazis?"

After a last few seconds of glaring at Liebgott, she turned to the large man. "Yes. I have. I'm a sniper for my Maquis cell."

"How many have you killed?" asked Johnny.

"Several dozen directly. Then we also engage in sabotage." Alice glanced at her watch. It was almost 1800 hours.

As if on cue, Lieutenant Winters opened the door. "Come get in formation. You've got two minutes."

Poker forgotten, they all straightened their fatigues and rushed out the door. Alice took a moment to pull her hair back as best she could. Her blonde hair stuck out in a tiny ponytail. Then she joined the men standing at attention, taking the back right.

The British army had taught her formation. The Americans used a similar stance. She stood at attention. George took up the spot at her left, and in the row in front of her stood Liebgott. Two dozen other men joined them.

Alice watched as a tall man with a large forehead and slick black hair approached them. His uniform had Lieutenant's bars. He stopped next to Winters. Then he turned to the men.

"Position of attention! You're at the position of attention!" His voice screeched at them. "Get your shit together!"

Instantly, Alice's nose wrinkled. Connard. Winters didn't even flinch, which Alice found telling. Clearly this would be a regular occurrence. 

"Training starts Monday, people. I suggest you spend the next two days familiarizing yourselves with going to war!" He paused. "I am Lieutenant Sobel, your commanding officer! This is Second Lieutenant Winters. When I stand before you, I want you to tell me your names. Properly!"

He went down the lines. Last name, first name, middle initial followed for each recruit. Finally, it came to Alice. She had yet to meet all the men. When Sobel stopped in front of her, he glared down his nose.

"Lieutenant Klein, Alice O, Sir." 

"You prepared for this, girl? Fighting with American men? Sure you don't want to back out now?"

"I am prepared, sir."

Sobel laughed, mocking her. "We'll see. I'll determine that, girl."

"Yes, sir." As he turned away, she muttered under her breath in French. " _Va te faire foutre_."

"What did you say?" He whipped around.

Alice smiled and lied, "It is French for 'thank you, sir'." 

Sobel didn't respond. After holding her gaze for a moment, he returned to the front by Dick Winters. She didn't miss the look Winters sent her. Alice struggled to suppress a smile.

"Enjoy this weekend. This may be the last weekend in a long time that you have off." Sobel turned to Dick and nodded. Then he walked off.

"Second Platoon, dismissed."

George and Liebgott immediately turned to her. She continued trying to stop herself from smiling. Liebgott asked what she'd really said in French.

"Go fuck yourself."

For the first time, Alice saw Joe Liebgott laugh. He smiled wide and chuckled, shaking his head. George joined in with him, and soon the others wandered over to find out what had been so funny. 

She even saw Dick crack a smile at their antics. Nixon joined him, and she wandered over. They stood side by side, watching the third platoon be interrogated by Sobel.

When she came over, Nixon winked at her. "How do you like your new CO?" She just raised her eyebrows. At her look, he cracked up and gestured to the men. "Something you did has them rather amused."

"They were surprised at my French, I think." 

"What'd you say?"

Alice felt herself blushing ever so slightly. " _Va te faire foutre_."

His eyes widened and then he cackled. "I like you, Klein."

"You are welcome to call me Alice. We had no real ranks in the Maquis."

"Then I'm Lewis, and he's Dick." He turned back to her. "So, bar tonight? I hear the men are planning on getting all dressed up."

"I do not know how wearing a dress would influence them," Alice admitted. "I could go in fatigues."

Dick shrugged. "Hiding the fact that you're a woman may harm your case more than help it with the men."

"Perhaps." Alice paused. She watched the men disperse. Then she turned back. "I will go."

Lewis grinned. With a wink, he brushed shoulders with Dick. "Great. We'll pick you up in an hour."

As they wandered away, Alice stood with her hands on her hips and a tiny smile. She liked both the officers. Lewis Nixon had a playful banter she enjoyed, and Dick Winters' steady calm influenced everyone around him. Finally she turned away.

Alice spent the next half hour wandering the base. She found the massive bar attached to the PX, the armory, and walked by the obstacle course. The course didn't worry her too much. Most of what she saw were things she'd covered living in the Alps, or in training in England. When she came back to the barracks, she found the men chatting while in their nice civilian clothes. She had to admit, they cleaned up really well.

Guarnere turned to her as she picked her way down the center to her changing space. "Hey, you coming tonight?" 

The room had gone quiet at the question. She cracked a smile. "Lieutenant Nixon seems to think I need to do more in America than train for war. So yes. I am."

The grin and wink Guarnere sent back at her just made Alice roll her eyes. She grabbed a flowing red dress from her footlocker and stepped behind the curtain. Then she poked her head around. "If anyone peeks, I've got a knife and I will gut you."

The whole room erupted in laughter. Guarnere spoke up again. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We're all leavin' anyways."

"Unless you want company," George added with a smirk.

"The Lieutenants have already offered to walk with me. I will see you all there."

The men barreled out of the room, eager to get to the PX bar while seats were still available. The room fell silent as she pulled the red dress on and fatigues off. They did seem to have all disappeared. Last went her shoes, black heels also from London. The dress fell loose from her hips and tight at the top. With a bit of red lipstick and the removal of her hair tie, she nodded to herself.

A knock on the door a moment later made her stand up from her cot. Her heartbeat rapidly increased. She'd been looking at the photo from the night at the Parisan bar. She'd worn a red dress that night too. It had been stained with blood, the blood of the Nazis. But her memory had been stained with the blood of her brother Marc. Suddenly she regretted saying yes.

Dick and Lewis stood at the door in their army dress. They both looked at her in varying degrees of surprise. Lewis Nixon failed miserably at hiding it.

"Before I change my mind, we better go," she muttered. 

"Whatever you say." Lewis winked at her as he offered her a hand. When she swatted it away, he chuckled. "Come on."

To her surprise, no cat calls followed her to the bar. Then she realized the other two Lieutenants had flanked her on either side. The recruits couldn't touch her when they were there. Finally they reached the door. She took a deep breath but still didn't move forward.

"What's wrong?" 

She glanced between Dick and Lewis. With a pinch of the bridge of her nose, she breathed out. "Last time I went to a bar, I killed an SS officer and got my brother executed."

"Holy shit." 

"Nix."

"What else am I supposed to say?"

"You don't have to go in there." Dick turned to Alice. He looked at her seriously. "You don't owe the company anything-"

"I can't show weakness." Alice stepped forward, missing the glance shared between the two friends. 

She pushed the bar door open and took a deep breath of the smoke and alcohol filled venue. Her hands shook as she stepped inside. The bar quieted as she stepped forward. She couldn't find Easy, but she immediately felt a hand on her side. A man reeking of alcohol hovered over her.

"Get off her, private." 

Lewis' voice behind her set her more at ease. The man stepped away, and she was again flanked by Dick Winters and Lewis Nixon. They led her towards a table in the back where a single man sat sipping a shot glass.

"Hey, Ron. Have you met Lieutenant Klein?" Lewis sat himself down next to the man. "Lieutenant Ronald Speirs, Lieutenant Alice Klein."

Ron looked up from his glass. He had dark hair, well kept. If she'd thought Liebgott had mastered the intense stare, Ron taught her it went another step further. He didn't look away from her eyes as she extended a hand. They shook.

"Right. You're the Underground contact?" 

"Yes." She sat down across from Ron as Dick sat also. "Glad to be of service here."

"Did Nixon drag you into coming here?" 

Alice laughed. She shook her head. "No. I must get the men in Easy Company to trust me. I figured I should spend time with them."

He nodded. "Makes sense."

"Speirs is a lieutenant in Dog Company," Dick explained. 

"How many companies are there?"

"Nine, Able through Item," said Lewis. "Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy, Fox, George, How, Item."

Alice nodded. She looked around the bar. About seventy soldiers meandered about, squeezing in and around the bar. A small dance area made up the farthest corner and served only as a place to stand. Most of the men wore civilian clothes, and she saw various officers in formal dress. 

Suddenly she heard her name. Bill Guarnere and George Luz stood staring at her. Alice smiled and turned back the Lieutenants.

"I believe my company requires me," she said with a small laugh. "Save my spot, I may need to be rescued from them."

Dick and Lewis both laughed, and Ron cracked a tiny smile. Alice stood from her spot and straightened her dress. Time to mingle.


	5. Chapter Five

"Fucking hell." 

It sounded like Liebgott as she approached the drinking Easy Company. But she couldn't be sure. As she slipped into the small circle, George stood from the tall table and made room for her.

"Hey beautiful, come here often." George took her hand and kissed it.

Alice laughed to herself. Her head shook in amusement. Quickly she looked at each of the men around her. Guarnere and Toye stood next to each other, faces behind large glasses of beer. To their right stood Malarkey with Skip Muck and Alex Penkala. Bull and Johnny made their way over, chatting. Liebgott stood to George's left with Sisk, intently drinking his alcohol.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Johnny asked her.

Alice paused. "Perhaps a glass of wine, if they have it here?"

He nodded and slipped back to the bar. This left her sitting at her spot at the tall table, self conscious. All she could think about was the color red. The red of her dress, and the red of the dress in January of 1941. The SS officer's blood had been red, but not as scarlet. It had spilled over her hands in a deep sort of crimson, staining them. 

"Say somethin' in French," George asked suddenly. 

Alice looked at him in confusion. Then she just shrugged. " _Pourquoi? Que veux-tu que je dise?_ " Then she smiled. " _Sur mes refuges détruits, sur mes phares écroulés, sur les murs de mon ennui, J'écris ton nom."_

"Holy shit." George laughed and leaned against the table with his back. He raised his beer to his mouth. "I could listen to that forever."

Again, she laughed. She rolled her eyes good naturedly. "You do not even know what I said. I could've been insulting you."

"I don't care."

Suddenly, a glass of wine was set in front of her. Johnny nodded and then looked around at the handful of men who had been listening. "What'd I miss?"

"Only the most angelic sounds to exist," George told him."

Alice rolled her eyes again. "Thank you… Johnny, no?"

"Johnny Martin." He nodded.

"I believe they are entranced by my French yet again. It is a nice language, but I will always prefer German." Her eyes drifted down to the glass of wine. Red wine. Why did everything have to be red, like blood. She hoped that when she lifted the glass to her lips, that they wouldn't notice her shaking hands. "I have not gotten to talk to many of you. I am curious about your lives. Tell me of the United States."

Guarnere started talking about the city of Philadelphia. He called it Philly, and she could hear the love he held for it in his voice. It made her smile. George went on about his town in Rhode Island soon, and then the others. She found out many of them had lots of siblings. George had ten! 

Two hours later, she sipped at her second large glass of wine, a tingling settling in her fingertips and chest. The bar had emptied some, leaving a lot more room for mingling. George, both Joes, Skip Muck, Malarkey, and Guarnere still chatted each other up. Alice listened. She didn't understand everything that was said, as she had learned British English, not American, and some of their words did not make sense. 

"How about you, Alice?"

She paused, swallowing a sip of wine. Her heart beat faster. "I am the third of four children. My mother is French, my father is German. My oldest brother Robert is also a Maquis fighter. My little sister Bernadette is still in lycée. I believe that is high school in English?" She trailed off. 

"And your other sibling?" asked Bill.

As she raised the glass to her lips, it shook involuntarily. What about him. Lâche! She felt like such a coward. What about him? The last time she'd seen him, he'd been grabbed by the SS. Then she'd heard the gunshot.

"Alice?"

She glanced up, eyes wide. But she straightened up and took a deep breath in. "Marc is dead."

"Oh." 

Suddenly they all straightened up and she turned to see who they were looking at. Thankful for the interruption, she took another large drink. No more explaining.

Lewis Nixon joined them. "Your presence is requested, Lieutenant." He had a small, cheeky grin on his face.

"Pardon," she said to the enlisted.

"You looked uncomfortable," Nixon said. "Figured I'd let you get away from them."

Alice smiled. "Thank you. Yes, the topic turned to sensitive matters. I often speak freely of what the Nazis have done to us, but I cannot look weak in front of them." 

They sat back down with Ron Speirs. Dick had disappeared leaving the three alone. She felt both of them watching her carefully. It wasn't necessarily uncomfortable; Lewis Nixon at least seemed genuinely concerned which touched her deeply and Speirs just seemed curious. 

"I'm eager to begin training with your men," she finally said. "Though I fear Lieutenant Sobel will not appreciate my presence."

Nixon laughed, and Speirs cracked a tiny smile. The former just shook his head. "I've known Sobel for awhile. He doesn't appreciate anything."

They fell quiet. The bustle around them continued. Men laughed and shouted, sloshing drinks left and right. The men of Easy Company chatted together, and every once in awhile they'd look over at Alice and the two officers. Music played in the background, some swing for the men to dance to, if there had been women to dance with.

"So, where'd you come from, Klein? How'd you get involved with the resistance?" Speirs pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Nixon took one quickly, and then Alice. As he waited for her to respond, Speirs passed out a light to each.

After puffing in her cigarette a few times, she sat straighter. "I was born in Hamburg, Germany, in December of 1920. I had two older brothers, Robert who is now twenty-seven, and Marc who was two years older than me. My father is German, and was a banker in Hamburg." She puffed the cigarette a few times. Then she continued. "My mother is from Western France. I grew up learning both sides of my heritage. When Hitler rose to power, he began to sow hatred for Jews. We are Jewish, and lost customers and support. So in 1934, my father and mother moved us to Paris. I was fourteen, and by then my younger sister Bernadette was six." Her throat constricted from the smoke and her sadness. But her companions stayed quiet, and she continued. "Our extended family kept sending us news of the Nazis. Kristallnacht happened, and we lost contact with them. When the Nazis invaded Paris, we were caught. My parents changed our names to my mother's surname, Laurent, and tried to lay low."

"You still don't know what happened to your German family?" Nixon asked.

Alice shook her head. "No. Jews have disappeared all around Germany."

"When the Germans invaded, you started working for the Underground?" asked Speirs. He inhaled his cigarette deeply.

"Not me, no. Not right away. I stayed in school. My favorite subject was language, and I am now fluent in four: German, French, English, and Dutch. But my older brothers immediately became active in the French Underground. It only took about six months for me to join them. I passed out leaflets exposing the Nazis, and organized protests." She sipped her wine. "In 1941, my brothers and I went out to a club in Paris. It was stupid, we were taking a risk. We'd all been caught and labeled troublemakers before. But we wanted a break. That night, a drunk SS operative attacked me, and I killed him with a steak knife. In order to protect me, Robert and I fled, but Marc stayed behind and took the fall. They shot him in the head."

"Jesus." 

Alice nodded at Nixon. "We were fortunate though. The SS operative I had killed had been a target for a British spy who worked alongside the Maquis. They managed to smuggle us from Paris into the Maquis who operated out of the Alps. They trained us, and we worked for them for about a year. Robert is still with them."

"And the rest of your family?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. When I still lived in France, before training in England, we tried to keep up with them. They've been trying to leave France, to come to England. But I haven't received word from anyone in the last two months."

Speirs sat forward. "You said that Jews have been disappearing all over Germany. You don't know why or to where?"

"Just rumors. Three words that circulate. _Endlösung der Judenfrage_. The final solution to the Jewish question. No one knows what it entails." Alice sat up and inhaled her cigarette. She blew out a steady stream of white smoke. "Some think they're deporting Jews to Siberia. I heard someone else say they're being sent to Palestine. Some say they're being rounded up and shot. I do not know what I think." After another lengthy pause, she forced herself to brighten up. "I have told you about me. What of you two?"

Lewis Nixon sat back in his chair and threw his shot glass back, downing his whiskey. He shrugged. "Born in New York City, lived in California."

"You know French," she added.

He grinned. "Yeah, well, we traveled around when I was younger and I fell in love with the language. Yale made me learn one, so I stuck with it."

She turned to Ron Speirs. He paused, inhaling the smoke from his steadily shrinking cigarette. "Born in Scotland, came here when I was four."

"Clearly you two have led less interesting lives than I have if that is all you have to tell me," she said with a small smile. Alice trailed her finger around the rim of her wine glass.

Nixon laughed and Ron cracked a smile. She chewed on some food that Nixon and Ron had been sharing, and watched the bar. The Easy Company men who still stood around the bar seemed to be getting restless. She saw a few making to leave.

"I think, If you will pardon me for the night, that I would like to figure out where and how I will shower while here." She hesitated, considering her options. 

Speirs stood up. "I'm heading out. I can help. Nixon will be here for hours if he has the option."

"Hey. I do have dignity."

"Do you?"

He grumbled and stood as well. "If you're both leaving, I'll come to. You can probably use the Officers' showers for tonight at least. Ron why don't you walk her back to get her clothes and I'll get it situated."

"I appreciate it."

The three of them exited the bar together. As with earlier, she noticed each man took up a spot to either side. Their concern really was touching. All three of them tossed their dead cigarettes aside and then Nixon broke off from them to find out if the showers were free.

Neither Ron nor Alice spoke as they trailed across the compound. Upon reaching her barracks, he stayed outside. She ducked indoors. Most of the men were lounging around. A few played cards, the rest either read books or wrote letters. Upon her entrance, they quieted down and she did her best to ignore it. 

On her bed sat several outfits. Two sets of fatigues, two sets of PT gear, and two sets of sleepwear had been stacked neatly. A small note signed Lt. Winters sat on top. She smiled. Grabbing one of the sets of sleepwear, she pulled off her heels and slipped into boots. Then she picked her way through the hushed barracks. 

Speirs guided her to where the Officers' had their showers. Nixon stood outside. The watch she had on read close to midnight.

"There's a towel and soap inside," Nixon said. "I'll stay out here."

"Thank you."

She slipped into the shower and began to undress, hanging her dress over the door to the stall. As she turned on the water, Alice hummed a gentle tune. Scrubbing clean felt absolutely fantastic. After two weeks on a boat with only minimal bathing ability, she relished the shower. Slowly she began to sing.

_"Quand il me prend dans ses bras_

_Il me parle l'a tout bas_

_Je vois la vie en rose_

_"Il me dit des mots d'amour_

_Des mots de tous les jours_

_Et ça m' fait quelque chose_

_"Il est entré dans mon coeur_

_Une part de bonheur_

_Dont je connais la cause_

_"C'est lui pour moi_

_Moi pour lui dans la vie_

_Il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie…"_

Outside the showers, Lewis Nixon and Ron Speirs stood a little ways away to give her privacy. Her French melody wove its way towards them. Speirs didn't know what it meant, but Nixon understood the French. He'd never heard the song before.

"What the hell is Washington thinking, putting a woman in with the company," Speirs muttered. "The men are going to be all over her."

Nixon gave a quick laugh in agreement. "She is one hell of a woman."

"Aren't you married?"

"Come on, Ron. That doesn't mean I'm blind."

"Cigarette?"

"Thanks."

Speirs pulled out his lighter and lit his and Nixon's cigarettes. They stood in silence, listening to the flowing water and gentle singing. Finally Speirs spoke again, removing his cigarette pensively.

"Think she'll make it?"

"God, I hope so." Nixon smiled at Speirs' expression. "Not just because I like looking at her, Ron. She'll be a real asset to the Battalion with her intelligence information."

"Are they still thinking of putting you in Intelligence?"

"Still up in the air. But Jesus, I hope so. Cause god, I can't stand Sobel."

Speirs huffed in amusement. The shower shut off a few moments later. Alice had finished her song and they waited. Only a handful of voices from around the camp could be heard. Most of the men slept or at least stayed in their barracks.

With another deep inhale of his cigarette, Speirs looked around. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see how she does."


	6. Chapter Six

A shrill whistle woke them at five on Monday morning. It took a moment of blinking herself awake before Alice remembered where she was. Dick had told them they'd fall out in fatigues and then have to change into PT gear, so she changed behind her curtain into the PT gear under it. Groans filled the barracks. When she'd fallen asleep the previous night, several bunks had been empty.

Alice grabbed her gun off her footlocker on the way out. She took up her spot at the very back of the formation, one of the first few there. George Luz yawned beside her. Her gaze met Dick's in the front, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod. She stood at attention as the rest of her platoon filled in.

Sobel finished up with first platoon and strode over to them, fuming. He barked at them to stand at attention. Alice rolled her eyes because they already were. The First Lieutenant strode between the men. He stared them down. He said nothing more until he came to stand before Alice.

"Are you wearing lipstick, Lieutenant?" 

"No, sir."

His cold hand grabbed her chin and yanked her up. She shivered at the touch. Beady eyes glared down at her as she refused to react.

"For lying, you get to run Currahee twice, Lieutenant. Once with the men, and once tonight." He dropped her chin. Striding back to the front, he screeched at the men. "Currahee is that mountain. We run three miles up and three miles down. We do not stop! You will do so faster than any other company, is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir." 

"Lieutenant Winters, dismiss the men. Have them ready to run Currahee in five minutes."

"Second Platoon, fall out. Change and report back here in three!"

They broke formation. Muttering German curses under her breath, Alice joined the men inside. Stripping off the fatigues didn't take long. The PT shorts barely extended to her fingertips and showed her legs completely. At least the shirt fell a bit loose.

"Lookin' good, toots," Guarnere told her. He winked as she moved past him but then stopped. "What happened to your face?"

Alice's hand touched her cheek. It burned slightly at the touch. "The Lieutenant found it necessary to check for lipstick. The lipstick does not exist."

"He grabbed you?" 

She shrugged and dropped the conversation. Once back outside, she breathed deeply in. Without meaning to, a small laugh escaped her as she looked at Currahee Mountain.

"What's so funny?"

She looked at Bull and smirked. "That is not a mountain. That is a hill."

Still grinning at the comparison of Currahee to something like the Alps, she fell in behind most of the company with Winters. They walked at a quick pace down the center of the camp, First Platoon up ahead with Nixon. The warmth of the Georgia summer didn't bother her as much anymore. Alice ended up walking between Joe Liebgott and George Luz. Anger all but radiated from the Austrian-American to her left.

Whistles and jeers went up to either side of the group. Alice just focused on her feet hitting the ground. At first she heard and felt the crunch of the gravel path, but soon her boots met rough ground. She knew how to run. She knew how to run up and down mountains. This wouldn't be an issue. She was more worried about combat training than physical fitness.

Sobel soon came running up to them, screeching profanities and insults. Their feet pounded the ground. Alice tried her best not to stand out among the men, some of whom had clearly never run up mountains before. The last thing she needed was a target on her back from her own company.

"Klein, you look tired. If you can't make it up this mountain, you should go back to your broken country. I'm sure the Nazis would love to have you back! Just surrender like the French always do!"

Anger flared up in her cheat. Sobel spoke of things he couldn't understand. Without even hesitating, Alice picked up speed until she ran right next to Lieutenant Winters and a few other well-conditioned men. She noticed Dick glance at her, but she didn't give him any response. 

Her legs had started to burn when they ran up a small inclined ditch. Jumping around the loose stones, she slammed her hand down on a pillar stone where Dick had just been before. While Dick stayed behind to encourage the heaving recruits, Alice focused on not slipping on the way down.

She reached the bottom in second place. They'd taken about half an hour for the whole company to go up and down. As the last men from second platoon trickled down, gasping for breath, Sobel sneered at her.

"You got beaten by a girl! Upcoming weekend passes are revoked unless you can earn them back, Second Platoon." 

"Good fuckin' job," Liebgott sneered at her. He'd come down in fourth.

Alice sighed and noticed half the men glaring at her as well. She bit the inside of her cheek. As she went to turn away, hands on her hips, laughter came from behind her. A few men meandering outside the nearby Fox Company barracks wiggled their fingers at her and made kissing noises. Her chest tightened and her ears warmed. Turning away, she looked back at her company. None of the men objected to the taunts.

The next few hours were spent in stretches. Alice was by far the most flexible member of Easy, and she did her best to hide this fact. But they noticed. When the lunch bells rang, Alice got in line. A bowl of soup, bread, and a cup of water became her meal. She sat down alone.

Unlike the previous few days, the men of Easy Company didn't join her. It upset her more than she wanted to admit, and heat filled her body. She knew that once the recruits had weeks of training under their belts, the playing field would even. Until then, she would just sit alone.

"This seat taken?" 

Alice looked up at Nixon. She shook her head, mouth full of food. He plopped down across from her. Moments later, Dick joined them.

"I heard you ran circles around Second Platoon," Lewis joked. He shoved a spoon into his stew and mixed it around.

"It is not their fault. I bet none of them have had formal training, nor lived in a mountain range." With a sigh, Alice patted her mouth with a napkin. 

Dick hummed in agreement. "Give them a few days, Alice. They'll get used to it."

She shrugged. "Perhaps. But I should've held back. I knew what the outcome would be. But Sobel hit a bit too close to home with some of his taunts." Then she straightened up, finished with her food.. "Then again, I'm not here to be liked. I'm here to free my home."

Excusing herself, Alice dropped her tray off and walked out of the crowded Mess Hall. Suddenly she tumbled forward. Laughter echoed around her as her head spun and hands stung from the gravel. A sharp pain radiated from the corner of her forehead. "Scheisse."

"Keep speaking German, you fuckin' Nazi broad."

"How's the view from down there?"

Alice blinked away the fog around her. Pulling herself to her feet, she pushed through the men around her and continued on her way. She could feel blood dripping from her face, and her palms were all scraped up.

With a slam, she shut the barracks door behind herself. Anger pulsed through her. She wanted nothing more than to punch the men into sense. But she couldn't. Well, she probably could have taken the two at the door, but the last thing she needed was more drama.

Only the whirring of the fan overhead made any noise in the empty barracks. Her hand went to her forehead and gingerly she patted her skin. Sticky blood stained her fingers. Head wounds always bled way more than they needed to. Alice walked down to her cot and pulled out her small mirror. With a washcloth, she dabbed at the cut. It didn't seem too deep. She got lucky the rock she hit hadn't been larger.

Her hands were another matter. Several small cuts crossed her skin, white from the scrapes and red from the blood. It burned. Then she looked down. Her knees had a few scrapes as well, but nothing as bad as her hands and face.

"Scheisse," she cursed again, under her breath. 

Keeping pressure on her head injury through the washcloth, she used her free hand to pull out the photo of her and her brothers. Suddenly the door opened and the raucous platoon came inside. She pulled the cloth away from her head too fast, the material sticking to her slowly clotting wound. She hissed. Opening and closing her hands caused blazing pain.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Bill Guarnere seemed genuinely concerned when he looked over to her.

The others spun around to look. She bit her cheek and shrugged, tossing the cloth to the side in as nonchalant a way as she could. After a moment, she sighed. "I tripped."

"You tripped, eh?" Guarnere walked over. He folded his arms. "Did you get back at whatever tripped yah?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Who was it?" Johnny stepped over to her as well. He looked at the cut. 

"I never said someone did this on purpose."

"You never said they didn't," Guarnere bit back.

Alice huffed. "I have had worse. I just need some water to clean up my face."

"Say no more." Suddenly George stood in front of her with a full canteen. He handed it to her and she thanked him.

Cleaning around the cut stung. She bit her cheek to keep from complaining. Finally when she hoped most of the blood had been washed away, she stood again. She had to go take care of her hands. The palms already hurt twice as much now they were drying. Excusing herself, Alice left the barracks.

She figured that since she was technically a Lieutenant, she had a right to the Officers' restrooms. She strolled with purpose towards the barracks that held the officers. As she turned a corner, she ran right into someone.

"I apologize, Lieutenant!" She took a quick step back as she realized she'd walked into Speirs.

But he just furrowed his brow and looked at her forehead. "What happened to that?"

"I fell."

"Right. Who did that to you?"

Alice hesitated. She didn't know the names of the privates who'd tripped her. "I'd rather not say."

"You have a right to defend yourself, Klein."

She nodded. "I know. I was caught unprepared. Trust me, that will not happen again. I just need to wash my hands."

Speirs accompanied her the rest of the way to the Officers' restrooms. While she went inside and scrubbed her palms clean, he stood thinking. It didn't take long before she'd finished and they went their separate ways.

In the second half of training that day, Alice did significantly worse. They focused on weight training. Ever time Alice tried to grab a weight, her palms all but screamed in pain. She could tell that Dick didn't miss the anguish on her face nor the red welt and cut in the corner of her forehead along her hairline.

"Come on Klein! Ready to give up yet?"

Sobel's jeers made her want to punch him. She never would've tolerated being spoken to like that back in the Maquis. Back there, they shared a common enemy. But in Camp Toccoa, it seemed the company's enemy was equally herself as much as Sobel or the Nazi threat. However she did notice the men weren't as furious with her, at least not the ones who had seen her cuts and scrapes.

She ate dinner by herself that night as neither Dick nor Nixon joined her. When they were dismissed for the day after the Mess Hall, she still had more to do. Currahee demanded to be run again thanks to the fake lipstick incident that morning.

So as the sun began to set, Alice silently re-tied her boots. None of the men spoke to her as she ran a hurting hand through her blonde hair. Fatigue crashed over her as she wandered through the quiet, darkening camp towards the base of the Currahee run. Each step crunched on the gravel. A few lightning bugs flickered around her. With a last, lingering look at the star-studded sky above, she took a deep breath and started up the three mile hike.

Halfway up the climb, night had fallen completely. A chorus of crickets and other bugs accompanied her on her way. Only the methodical pounding of her boots and ragged breathing made any other noise. By the time she reached the top, pain shot through her knees. The fall earlier had hurt her more than she expected. Setting her jaw, Alice slapped the pillar stone and started back down.

"Stand alone," she muttered. Sobel had told them what Currahee meant. She supposed it fit her situation well. She would stand alone, no matter what.

When her boots hit gravel at the entrance to camp, she paused to cough and catch her breath. Her head spun, pain shooting through her. When she opened the door to her barracks, she didn't speak and didn't make eye contact with the men who sat around chatting. Instead she went straight to the back and grabbed her towel, shower kit, and sleeping clothes. Sweat dripped down her face and mixed with blood from the reopened cut.

Bill turned to her. "Where you goin'?" 

Alice turned back to them. She stood at the door. "I need to shower."

"You can't go by yourself," Joe Toye objected. 

Alice just shrugged in defeat. She didn't have the energy to deal with this. She supposed she could find Nixon. Her hand went back up to where she could feel the blood dripping. Then she turned and left.

To her surprise, Bill Guarnere, Joe Toye, and George Luz caught up with her before long. Because they weren't officers, they went to the regular showers.

"We'll wait out here," Joe told her. "Gotta keep you out of trouble."

Alice cracked a smile and thanked them. She ducked into the showers and set to work scrubbing the grime and blood from her skin. Lukewarm water spilled over her body and she sighed in content. Soon, a French song spilled from her lips.

Outside, Bill shared cigarettes with Joe and George. They stood together listening to her. With each new verse of the song, they relaxed.

"Jesus," sighed George. 

Bill and Joe snickered. But they agreed with his longing sentiments. With just crickets around, they didn't say much else.

"Privates, what are you doing loitering out here?" Dick Winters walked by them. He looked curiously.

"Lieutenant Klein needed to shower," Bill explained.

Dick flashed them a tiny smile. He could hear her soft, quiet singing. Then he grew more serious. "Did she mention what happened with her head today?"

George paused. "She said she tripped, sir."

"Did she say someone did it on purpose?"

"She wouldn't tell us who," Joe explained.

Dick nodded. He stood thinking for a moment. With a quick nod, he told them to carry on. Leaving them to the quiet song Alice sung and chorus of crickets and falling water, they kept puffing at their cigarettes.

When the water shut off, they had just finished smoking. After another few minutes, Alice came outside holding her PT gear in her towel. Her face looked a lot cleaner, though the red welt on the side still looked gruesome. She smiled more too. Running a hand through her wet hair, she nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate the help."

"Dontcha worry about it," Bill said. "Sobel would have our asses if you showed up black and blue to formation in the mornin'."

"He'd probably revoke all our passes again and blame you for wearing make up," George added with a smirk.

Alice hummed in agreement. "I was not wearing lipstick this morning. And, uh, I apologize for being the reason you had your passes revoked. I let my anger with Sobel cloud my judgement when I rushed to finish the Currahee run."

"Well, we're all in this together, eh." Bill dug out a cigarette from his pack and handed it to her. When she took it, he offered her a light.

With a small smile, Alice drew the smoke in. Then she released it calmly. "Indeed." 


	7. Chapter Seven

Their second friday started much the same as any other day, with roll call and Currahee. In two weeks, the men of Easy had improved their time. Alice stayed as calm as she could under the jeers of Sobel, not eager for a repeat of that first Monday.

At breakfast, she ate with her company. After word got around about the injuries she'd sustained by the men of a different company, they'd slowly let her back into their ranks. She'd quickly come to like George, Joe Toye, and Bill the most. They talked to her more than the others. But at breakfast that morning, they had been given latrine duty instead.

The mess worker dropped two cold pancakes, some eggs, and a single strip of bacon onto her tray. With a small smile, she also grabbed a mug of coffee. Part of her considered sitting with the Officers. She'd seen Nix, Dick, and Speirs all at a table already. But with a deep breath, she walked towards the table part of Easy Company typically sat at.

"May I sit?" She recognized a couple of the men as being from her Second Platoon. But the others must've been First or Third. 

Malarkey nodded, his face full of food. He scooted to the left to give her an empty seat on the end. The man now across from her watched her carefully. He had dark eyes and equally dark hair, with an extremely fair complexion. 

"Hey, Roe, she's French," added Malarkey. "Y'know, like you."

Alice grinned. " _Vous êtes français? Je m'appelle Alice. Et vous?_ " 

"Eugene Roe." When he noticed the whole table had turned to listen to them speaking French, he blushed and switched to English. "I'm Cajun, from Louisiana. Not from France."

Her enthusiasm died slightly, but she nodded with a smile. "Ah, well. We cannot all be from France." She winked at him.

"This is Carwood Lipton," Malarkey added, pointing to the man across from himself. 

"Nice to formally meet you." Lipton extended a hand and she shook it.

"Then Spina, Christenson, O'Hara, Powers, and Popeye are the ones chatting away down there with Liebgott," finished Malarkey. He took another bite. "I heard we're doing close combat training today."

And they did. When breakfast ended, Alice walked back near Malarkey and Liebgott to their barracks. At this point she didn't even notice the occasional cat call from Fox Company. Suddenly Private Vest walked up to them.

"Liebgott, J." He handed a letter over to the man. "Malarkey, D. Klein, A."

They each took their mail. None of them waited for the barracks to open them. Alice felt a tingle of fear down her spine as she read the address. The letter came from one of the fake safe houses her Maquis cell had used for passing messages. She tore it open quickly and pulled out a single paged letter. It had been written in French, scrawled in a choppy cursive.

_"Klein,_

_"We regret to inform you that your brother Robert was captured by the Gestapo not long ago. He was executed almost immediately. We attempted to get your family into hiding, but we failed. Two days later they took your parents and sister away. We have lost contact with them. They were accused of being Jewish, so hopefully we can still locate them before the Nazis do whatever it is they've been doing._

_"Robert died honorably. He was a point of contact on a rescue mission for a Jewish family. The family made it safely to their checkpoint but he did not. He knew the risks when you two signed up. I'm sorry for your loss._

_Vive la résistance,_   
_Pierre"_

She could feel her tears forming. She couldn't afford this. No matter how much she wanted to grieve, she had a job. As she tried to walk forward, she stumbled briefly. Her world spun.

"Alice?" 

Her breath came in ragged gasps. She'd failed them. If she'd been back home, maybe she could've saved Robert. If they hadn't captured him, Bernadette wouldn't be a prisoner. Again, she lost a brother to her own stupidity.

"Alice? You alright?" 

She realized Liebgott and Malarkey were speaking to her. Her heart beat so fast she swore they'd be able to hear it. Alright? Was she alright?

"Yes. Yes I'm fine."

Liebgott looked at her curiously. "What was in that letter?" 

"Nothing." She walked forward to the door of their barracks and flung it open. Her face drained of color as she found it full. Almost everyone laughed and chatted as they changed into PT gear. 

Claustrophobia had only been a problem a few times for her. But as the world crashed down around her, she didn't want to deal with twenty nosey men. She could feel Liebgott and Malarkey staring after her as she ducked behind her curtain to change. 

She had no brothers now. All she had were a few dozen loud, brash men training to be paratroopers who barely tolerated her presence. The urge to hit someone or something only increased as she tried to suppress it. She'd always been the one to lecture Robert on controlling his anger and hatred, to use it as a motivator and not let it be in control. But at that moment all she wanted to do was go back to France and kill every last Nazi officer she could find.

"Training Field D, five minutes Second Platoon." 

She heard Dick's orders as she hid herself behind the changing curtain. Her eyes burned as she couldn't stop a few tears. With a hand over her mouth, she tried to steady herself against the corner wall.

Before long, most of the noise had died down. Alice wiped her face on her white PT shirt. With a deep breath, she ducked back into the room and found George and Liebgott waiting for her, talking quietly.

"Shit, Alice, you look like you're gonna fall over any second." George cracked a smile. "Did you finally fall in love with me?"

"What was in the letter?"

Alice glared at Liebgott. But she didn't respond, tucking the letter into her pillow and hurrying out the door. "The contents of the letter don't matter to you."

"If it matters to you, it does," George argued. He hurried down the two steps onto the gravel path. He sent her a quick wink as she turned to him.

They didn't say anything else. Training Field D sat flat and grassy in front of them. To the right, they saw Dog Company lined up in pairs.

All three Platoons for Easy Company were present. Winters and Nixon stood together, neither talking. The former glanced at his watch. He nodded.

"Right, Easy Company listen up. Today we're going to see what we each know in hand to hand close combat. I want everyone to pair off and find some open space. When you've paired off, you can have a go at each other. But! I don't want any deaths today, that's too much paperwork."

The whole group chuckled as his statement. Then they began to pair off. Alice had half a mind to ask Liebgott so she could punch him in the face as a thank you for telling George about the letter. But as people paired and she stood alone, she actually cracked a smile when Nixon came over.

"Think they're all scared of you?" He joked.

Alice shrugged. "Clearly you aren't."

"I never said that. My ego doesn't mind being beaten by a girl, though."

"I'll let you in on a secret," she walked over to him closer and lowered her voice. "I don't fight fair."

Nixon chuckled and stood back. They carved out a little circle and stood opposite each other. "I hope you don't think less of me for being willing to hit a girl."

"Trust me, I don't mind right now." 

She didn't wait for a response. Alice flew at him and ducked under his arm. They tussled for a moment, neither managing to land any meaningful hits. Alice backed up.

Nixon watched her carefully. "So you heard from home."

Her expression changed instantly. Nixon approached her first this time. She leaned backwards to dodge a hit before attacking. He managed to grab her, restraining her. It took a moment of struggle, but she landed a kick in between his legs and shoved him off. As he stood stunned for a moment, she seethed.

"How the hell do you know about my letter."

Laughing and coughing at the same time, he shook his head. "I know things. That's what I do." He straightened up and lashed out before she could reply. "They want me in Intelligence for a reason."

Alice ducked away from him and took a moment to glare, backing up. She didn't even notice the sweat dripping off her in waves, staining the front of her shirt, a combination of exercise and the oppressive wet heat of Georgia.

"You might try using your anger, not letting it use you," Nixon suggested as he managed to grab her again.

Alice threw him off violently, using her head to smash his nose. With as hard a swing as she could muster, she hit him across the jaw. She heaved in deep breaths. "I used to say that to Robert. Now he is dead."

He clutched at his bleeding nose, cursing. They stood apart. He nodded. "So that's what it said." 

Dick walked over and eyed them in concern. The nearby pairs had stopped what they were doing to watch. As Dick approached, they turned back to their own fights.

"I thought I said not to kill anyone," he said dryly.

Nixon heaved a laugh, still clutching at his nose. With a glare, Alice tried to catch her own breath. Sharp, nasty bruises were already forming on her arms where Nixon had managed to restrain her twice.

"She looked like she needed to beat someone up. I gave it a shot." He winked at Alice. "She's very thorough. Aims below the belt. It was fun."

"Fuck off."

Nixon laughed. "We'll make an American out of you yet. Dick, I'm fine. She's gonna look worse."

Dick just hummed in disbelief and walked away to check on the other sparring pairs. With a sigh, Alice walked over and placed a hand on Nixon's face to check where she'd punched him in the jaw.

"I'm sorry about your face."

"I'm sorry about your brother."

She huffed in agreement. Her tears threatened to spill over again. With a trembling breath, she shrugged. "We knew the risks. A free France and a free Germany are worth dying for. We are already dead, really. Occupied France. If we do not fight, we stay dead. If we fight, there's a chance we come out victorious."

"But?"

"My little sister and my parents did not sign up for any of this. And now they've been convicted of Judaism, and will be dealt with. Whatever that means."

"Jesus Christ." He sighed. "They got everyone?"

"Everyone but me."

After the sparring ended, Dick and Nixon both demonstrated a few key proper techniques for close combat. Alice ended up paired with him again for slow motion practice, but they didn't speak much. Alice wasn't in the mood.


	8. Chapter Eight

"You will not drink from these canteens. Is that clear, Easy Company!"

"Sir, yes sir."

Alice looked at Sobel. His eyes glared down at her specifically as they stood at attention. The sun was setting behind them, beautiful colors streaking the sky. But the menacing Lieutenant Sobel reared up before them.

For the first of many times, Easy Company would be running a twelve mile march at sundown in full gear. Her body ached just thinking about it. She'd been putting in extra work since day one to try to acclimate her body to the extra weight. Still, the prospect of carrying her gear on a twelve mile march with no water caused her physical pain.

The bruises on her arm and chest from Nixon earlier stung as she shifted from one foot to the other. She didn't miss the fact that Sobel wouldn't be joining them. Coward. Though she supposed it meant they didn't have to deal with him.

Dick had the three platoons fall out. They watched Sobel disappear and turned towards the track they'd be taking. Their feet began pounding the ground as they set off. Dick set a relatively easy pace.

The sky darkened. Boots hitting the hard ground echoed through the forest on the road they used. They marched in silence, each man focused on keeping their pace steady. After the second hour, the pain had set in. Alice could see it in the faces of the others despite the darkness. Coughs became more frequent, wheezes from the lack of water on their throats.

They grew restless, angry. She could see it. She could feel it in the way they slammed their feet into the ground. Not that she wasn't as furious with Sobel for his ridiculous training regiment. She looked over and saw George with a furious frown on his face. Even in the short time she'd seen him interact with the others, she knew he'd taken it upon himself to keep the atmosphere light for the sake of everyone. Happy soldiers meant less stupid decisions, which typically meant less punishments.

Marc had been like that. When Marc had died, and Robert had become consumed by his anger, she'd tried to emulate their dead brother's encouragement. Even as the anger filled her chest, she thought about the way Marc liked to sing to break the tension. His tenor voice rang through their flat, causing them all to laugh, especially Bernadette.

She calmed her breathing, getting herself back to a pace where she could sing without too much issue. The problem wasn't her breathing, it was the pain of the pack on her shoulders and neck, pulling her down. The third hour had come and gone. She remembered how the boys had been enamored by her French. With a deep breath, she started a soft melody that one of their contacts in Paris had found.

_"Quand il me prend dans ses bras_  
_Qu'il me parle tout bas_  
_Je vois la vie en rose._

_Il me dit des mots d'amour_  
_Des mots de tous les jours_  
_Et ça me fait quelque chose."_

Her eyes stung involuntarily with tears for Marc, tears for Robert, tears for France and Germany. The company had gone completely silent. As she continued, she stayed looking straight ahead from her position near the back of the group.

_"Il est entré dans mon coeur_  
_Une part de bonheur_  
_Dont je connais la cause._

_C'est lui pour moi,_  
_Moi pour lui dans la vie_  
_Il me l'a dit, l'a juré pour la vie."_

They saw the camp ahead. Alice's song faltered as they caught sight of Sobel waiting. She refused to give him the satisfaction of the beauty of her language. The men fell into their platoons. Alice wiped her tears away before taking up her silent spot at the back.

"Up-end your cantines at my command!" 

They unscrewed their caps. At Sobel's word, they dumped the water onto the gravel ground. He looked at them, nodding in satisfaction as all the water ended at the same time. Then he glanced down at his watch.

"That run took too long, Easy Company. All your weekend passes are revoked. Dismissed."

"For fucks sake," Liebgott muttered under his breath.

Alice slipped away. Her mind reeled. She didn't mind the cancelation of the weekend passes much, as she didn't intend to leave the camp anyways. But she knew some of her company had wanted to go onto Atlanta.

She reached the barracks first. Tossing her stuff down beside her bed and in her footlocker, Alice sat at the end of her bed in just her shirt and pants. The letter from earlier weighed heavy in her hands as she drew it from her pillow. Her tears returned.

"Alice."

She looked up to see Dick and Nixon both standing in the doorway. The latter gestured to her, covered in sweat. "Come on, it'll take forever for you to wait for the enlisted showers."

They were right. She stuck her letter into her footlocker and grabbed her shower kit and clothes. As Easy Company entered, looking exhausted, she joined up with the other two Lieutenants.

As they strolled towards the Officers' showers, Nixon turned and walked backwards. His face had a light bruise over both his nose and jaw. He cracked a smile.

"Did I hear you singing in French to your platoon?"

"Yes. I have noticed how enamored by the French they are, many of them at least. I thought perhaps it would lift their spirits."

Dick nodded. "It did."

They waited for her to shower as they had the last time. She didn't take long, and soon she came out with clean, wet hair. The bruises on her arms were visible and she saw them both grimace.

Nixon offered to walk her back. "It's the least I can do after leaving you with those marks." He took a swig from his canteen. Based on the smell, she guessed it to be whiskey.

"It won't be necessary," she assured him. "Besides, you need a shower too."

"Are you saying I smell?"

"I'm not saying you don't." 

With a small wink, she turned and said goodnight to both the officers. It was already past midnight as she strolled through the quiet camp. Only the sounds of the showers interrupted the peaceful night.

A few of the men who had finished up showering sat around chatting from their bunks. George Luz leaned back against the wall with one knee propped up, his hair wet and messy on his head. Also present were Guarnere and Malarkey. As she stashed her stuff in her footlocker, she also pulled out her brush and set to work on her hair as she leaned against the wall as well.

"Hey, Alice, 'sit true that the French kiss each other when they say hi?" 

She turned her head to look at George. The exasperation must've been evident in her expression because he grinned, and both Malarkey and Guarnere cracked up.

"Friends do, yes."

He grinned and cocked his head at her, still leaning against the wall. "Are we friends?"

"She don't wanna kiss yah, yah idiot," said Guarnere.

"It's not really a kiss, not as you would like." Alice sat up from the wall. She moved her legs to the side facing George. With a moment of hesitation, she sighed. He looked at her with a grin and she just shrugged. "Fine. But, if you so much as move your head while I'm doing this, I'll hit you the exact same way I hit Lieutenant Nixon in training."

"I'll be a perfect gentleman. Scout's honor."

Alice stood as he did the same, and moved over to him. Without thinking too hard, she pressed her left cheek to his right cheek and pursed her lips in a kiss, then did the left. 

"So, we friends?" Guarnere's eyes gleamed as he smoked his cigarette.

"Can I have a cigarette?"

He winked and mock saluted, walking over. He quickly fished one out of a pack and handed it to her. Alice nodded and did she same thing she'd done to George.

"Malarkey?"

With a snort, he sat up straighter. "I don't have anything to trade-"

Liebgott, Toye, Bull, and Johnny came striding in, all with wet hair. George wasted no time. "Alice is handing out kisses."

"For the love of… I am not." Alice put her hands on her hips. "I take back la bise, George Luz. He asked me about the custom for us French to kiss our friends hello and goodbye." 

"Right," said Johnny.

George turned back to her as she took a seat again. "I mean, the cheek kissing is nice. But what about the other type of French kiss."

"I'd rather not."

Laughing, he put his hands behind his head and leaned against the wall. Then he turned to her. "No one you're missing back home?"

Alice's face fell. She took a deep breath of her lit cigarette. Then she blew the smoke out slowly. "No. I've got no one."

Guarnere looked at her in surprise. "That so, sweetheart?"

Her gaze hardened. "No one. There was not much time to worry about love when you are busy trying to upset the Nazis and live." Then she turned to Guarnere. "Also, I know it doesn't seem to mean much to you men, but I am a Lieutenant, so you can drop the pet names." They looked at her in surprise. With a deep breath, she apologized. "It has been a long day."

"What was in the letter?" 

She turned to Liebgott. He'd been quiet so far, a feat in and of itself. With a glare, she shook her head. "Why do you insist on bringing it up, Private?"

"Cause you looked like you were gonna faint, Lieutenant."

"Come on, just tell us what's in the letter," George insisted. He took out a letter of his own. "Here I'll start." He cleared his throat. "Dear George, ma told me to write to you so here I am. Today I ate a piece of apple pie. I wanned to send you somes but ma said no. She said you'll get fat if you eat pie. I said I'm not gonna get fat, so why would George? But ma said so, so I guess it's true. I hope you get pie down in Georgia. I think it funny that your name is like the same as Georgia. I'm running out of paper, so bye. Love Maria." With a grin, he turned back to her. "Now you just heard from the love of my life. Let's hear yours."

Alice bit her cheek. The men around her looked genuinely interested, even Liebgott. She reminded herself that to gain trust she had to show trust. Scooting up so she sat against the wall, she tucked her knees under her chest beneath the covers of her cot. Finally she sighed. "The letter is from the leader of my Maquis cell. We call him Blanche." 

She read the letter aloud word in English, pausing only briefly to collect herself. The whole barracks had gone silent, with only the occasional cigarette puff to break it. A few other men had come in from the showers to catch her letter. As she finished, no one spoke for a while. It was finally George who broke the silence.  
  
"I'm sorry."

"So am I." She drew in the smoke from her cigarette and let it burn her throat. Then she shook her head. After putting out her cigarette and stuffing the letter away, she paused again. The photo of herself and her brothers suddenly felt heavy in her pocket. She drew it out. "Here."

George took the photo and smiled at the happy expressions of Alice and her two brothers. He passed it around. Taking out his own photo, he handed it to her. "Maria, the crazy kid who wrote the letter, is that one." He pointed to a young girl with dark, curly hair in pigtails. 

With a smile, Alice looked down at the happy family in the photo. She found George standing beside his parents, arm over his mother's shoulder, and around them eight children and two infants. There were six girls and four boys.

"Adélaïde."

Alice looked up at the mention of her birth name. Joe Toye had turned the photo over. They all turned back to her.

"Is that your real name?"

She took a deep breath. "Adélaïde was my given name. But that person no longer exists." Stepping over to where Joe held the picture, she took it back. The tiniest hint of a smile passed her lips as she looked down at Robert and Marc. 

The other started trading pictures and snippets of their letters. But she felt exhausted, and her body hurt all over. With a few deep breaths to calm herself, she slipped the photo back into her pocket and lay down for bed.


	9. Chapter Nine

With weekend passes canceled, the boys of Easy Company spent the next day playing cards or exercising. They didn't see much of Alice; she spent her time roaming the woods around Camp Toccoa and climbing up Currahee at a leisurely pace. She'd gotten up early, before daybreak, and wandered off into the forests.

As much as she'd laughed about the Georgia mountain being a far cry from her Alpine home, the quiet trembling of the forest leaves made her smile. She settled down on the low pillar they always tagged at the top of the run and chewed on some trail nuts she'd bought at the PX.

The thing she found she missed most in Toccoa was the lack of close contact. She and Robert had grown up with hugs and kisses from their family and friends, and she'd often sleep next to him for comfort on cold nights in the mountains. Not only did she not have someone to hug for comfort in her time of loss, but the permanent ache knowing her family was gone forever settled in her body. She felt cold. Now all she had was her mission.

She had no country. She had no brothers. She had no family. She had no home. All Alice had in America to remind her of Europe were her languages.

Footsteps pounded the ground down the hill. The birds had stopped chirping. Alice reached into her pocket and felt the knife she had been issued. Around the corner came a handful of Easy Company men and she relaxed.

"Hey look! It's Alice." George panted as he rushed up the ditch to the stone. 

Behind him, Christenson, Webster, and Perconte all smiled to varying degrees. She forced a smile and waved as they clambered up. All of them paused, heaving at the stone.

"You're running Currahee on a weekend?"

"We're not gonna let Sobel take next week's passes." He looked at her. "We're supposed to hit it," said George between breaths. "You're sitting on the stone." Then his smile grew. "As your friend, I suggest a kiss instead."

Alice saw Webster roll his eyes, while the other two just shook their heads with a smile. George did not give up. Perhaps playing along wouldn't be such a terrible idea.

"All right. You four got up here and found me. But, there are rules. No turning heads. And one cigarette per kiss. I don't have my own pack yet." 

"Deal." Then he grimaced. "I don't have my smokes on me though."

"I know where you keep them."

She gave him a cheek kiss, gently pressing her left cheek to his and making a kissing sound with her lips. They all laughed as he pretended to be shot. Perconte and Christenson both promised her cigarettes at the bottom. Webster declined, saying he didn't have any cigarettes to trade. He shuffled awkwardly before heading back down the mountain.

Alice chuckled to herself. She continued to sit at the stone, relishing the quiet for as long as she could. A gentle breeze had picked up and the sun began to sink in the sky. The leaves rustled on their branches. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The slow plodding of feet up the ditch made her open them.

"Luz said you were handing out kisses for whoever got to the top."

Alice rolled her eyes at Nixon's statement. "You climbed all the way up here for one?"

With a laugh, he shook his head and sat down beside her on the ground. Wiggling his fingers he showed her the ring. "I'm married."

"I was handing out small cheek kisses in exchange for cigarettes," she explained. 

They both paused before cracking up. The deal sounded more ridiculous when she said it out loud. As she covered her face in shame through the laughs, he collected himself.

"Dick said he hadn't seen you all day. He gets worried. Like a mother hen." He turned back to her. "God, he's exasperating. No flaws."

She rolled her eyes with another laugh. "And yet you two are clearly good friends."

The flask he sipped sloshed as he put it down. He hummed in agreement. "Went through training together. Then had to deal with that bastard Sobel. Oh, and I hide my drinks in his footlocker so I have to keep him around."

"That makes sense," she joked.

Nixon snickered. He took another drink of his flask. "It's getting dark."

"I would've come down soon," she argued.

"Yeah, well, like I said. Dick's a mother hen." He offered her the flask but she declined. "He would've climbed up here but Sobel's on his ass about something." Then he turned to her. He studied her face. "Some of the men were talking about you too."

"What were they talking about?"

Nixon shrugged. "They wanted to know where you went. I swear Guarnere and Martin almost fought Liebgott. But I saw him walking away from them like a kicked puppy, which I didn't even think was possible."

She scoffed. The image of Liebgott looking anything but either smug, amused, or angry didn't even cross her mind.

"Of course, he still looked pissed," Nixon added. After a pause and a drink, he breathed deeply. "You tell them about the letter?"

"Yes."

Nixon cursed as he smacked his skin. "For Christ's sake. Too many bugs."

Alice smiled and stood. "You're not wrong. Come on."

They both scrambled down the ditch carefully. Currahee in the dark was meaningfully harder than during the day. Alice let a few German curses slip as she had to steady herself on a tree. Once they reached the gravel and dirt road, they relaxed.

"Has the Army heard anything from the Underground?" 

Nixon shook his head. "Not that I've found. But I'm not in Intelligence yet. There aren't any positions." She hummed, and he shrugged. "I told Dick, about your letter. He wanted to know why you tried to kill me."

With a grimace, she looked over at his face. The bruises had started to fade but his nose still looked a little swollen. "Not my best moment."

He didn't answer. Nixon only chuckled and felt the welt on his jaw. "In your defense, I didn't know the contents of the letter until I'd pissed you off."

They walked in silence. The noise of Nixon sipping from his flask became almost drowned out by the roar of the thousands of crickets around them. It only took them another ten minutes to reach the bottom. The silence didn't feel uncomfortable. By the time they walked between the barracks, most of the men seemed to either be chatting outside around tables, or indoors.

"I'm gonna let Dick know you're not eaten by a bear," said Nixon. Then he paused. "Want my advice?"

"Depends on what it is."

He snorted and shook his head. "Well here it is. Talk to them. Some of them probably don't respect you, but sure as hell none of them know you. Break the ice. They have no idea what to do with your presence here."

"This is not exactly easy for me either."

"No kidding." Nixon shrugged. "Get alcohol. That always helps."

While he walked away towards the Officers' barracks, she stood quietly, alone. The breeze ruffled her hair. She caught sight of a few groups of men, but didn't recognize any of them. With a sigh, one arm holding her other across her chest, she went to her own barracks. The palpable absence of her family hung around her.

She opened the door quietly. Beyond it she could hear laughter. When she stepped inside, she forced a smile on her face. Malarkey, Muck, and Penkala sat around on two bunks playing cards. Closer to the center of the room, George Luz was doing a spot on impression of Sobel much to the amusement of Liebgott, Christenson, Perconte. Even Bull and Johnny, standing to the side, looked somewhat amused. 

"And you, Private Bullshit!" Luz shouted over to Malarkey. "Your pass is revoked!"

"For what?"

"For whatever bullshit reason I can come up with!"

The whole room cracked up. As she stood near the door with her arms crossed, even Alice couldn't suppress a smile. When she laughed, they all turned to her.

"See boys, told you she would come back. She missed us." George grinned. Then he paused "You did miss us, right?"

Alice couldn't stop herself and smiled. "Yes, George. What would I do without you?" Walking further inside, she picked her way carefully to her cot. She put her boots at the side of her bed and shifted on top. "Apparently the Lieutenants were concerned I had been eaten by a bear. I told them it would be more likely that I'd get attacked by Easy Company looking for free kisses." She glared good naturedly at him. "Of course, they already knew about it… George. Which reminds me. Three of you owe me cigarettes."

He ran a hand through his wet hair. Then he flashed her a sheepish grin. "Yeah. Sorry about that." With a quick dig into his footlocker, George took out two cigarettes and his lighter. He tossed them over.

Christenson and Perconte passed her one cigarette each as well and she thanked them. With a smirk, she put one in her mouth and used George's lighter to start it. The room went back to steady activity, with Liebgott telling a story about his sister Mary back home and the poker game continuing. Alice listened as she puffed at her cigarette.

The crowd dispersed around eleven. She and her bunk mates settled down to sleep. Only when Alice woke in a cold sweat did she realize she'd drifted off. Her heart pounded in her chest as she sat up. She grabbed her face.

The dream had been so real. A crack. Blood spilled from the hole the size of a dime in Marc's fair face. His dark hair had lain in a pool of it, staining the edges an even darker brown. Her shrill scream as Robert restrained her, and the blood on her own hands as he tore her away from the scene. Only then, the memory turned to imagination.

Another crack shot through the air. A bullet pierced Robert's skull. Red blood sprayed her face as he fell to the ground. His golden hair turned red in the blood. It gushed from the wound, cascading onto the grey cobblestone roads of what looked to be Paris.

Tears filled her eyes. She closed them, trying to will the pain away. But she couldn't stop the sobs. Alice grabbed her mouth to try to stifle them long enough to get out the door. Without even her boots, she slipped out silently, and sat on the single step outside where she could finally grieve in peace.

She hadn't even been there to comfort him as he died. She hadn't been there for either. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and her body heaved with sobs as she tried to stay quiet. Alice stayed there for several minutes. 

When Liebgott came walking back to the barracks, she didn't even notice him. Her head was in her hands. She tried to regain control of her breathing.

"You okay?"

She glanced up in surprise. Wiping her tears away, she stood abruptly and nodded. "Yes."

He gave her a tiny smile. They both saw right through her lie. In resignation, she sat back down. Liebgott joined her.

"My sister Elizabeth get so mad at me," he said. "She always tells me off for sticking my nose in people's business. And for pissing people off. She says I get too angry."

Alice huffed in agreement. "My brother Marc told Robert and I the same. Especially Robert."

A brief moment of silence followed. Only the sounds of Alice trying to regain her composure made any noise. Finally, Liebgott continued.

"Look. I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Being a fucking asshole." He ran a hand through his hair. Then he cracked a small smile. "Some of the guys seem to think I was anyways."

Alice found herself chuckling. With a gentle shake of her head, she looked up at the stars. Another wave of grief washed over her. Her heart pounded. She put her face in her hands again and the tears returned. 

Her body tensed at the sudden warmth on her side. She realized Liebgott was giving her a hug. All control she'd been able to maintain crumbled, and she felt the pain of the loss of her family. Her fear for Bernadette and her parents crashed down on her. Anger, at herself and the war and absolutely everyone fueled her.

As she regained some semblance of control, Liebgott let go of her. After apologizing profusely, she wiped her face. Liebgott just winked at her.

"So, do I count as a friend now? Luz was talking about these imcredible kisses you give-"

"Oh for the love of God." She couldn't stop herself from laughing though. "He just does not have any sense of when to shut his mouth."

Liebgott stood and offered her a hand up. She took it. Before she could think too hard, she stood on her toes and did a cheek kiss. 

"Not much of a kiss."

Her laugh made him smile. But she just shook her head. "That's what I told George. But he would not listen."

They went inside quietly. As they split in the middle, he whispered to her. "Gute Nacht."

She spun to look at him and grinned. At the German, her heavy heart lifted ever so slightly. "Gute Nacht, mein Freund."


	10. Chapter Ten

August came and went, Easy Company spending most of their time doing physical training. Hatred for Sobel continued to fester. Alice found herself not taking Nixon's advice. She found the prospect of talking about her childhood and early adulthood too difficult. Still, she noticed the men all tolerated her. Part of her wanted to share stories as they would each night.

As the grueling Georgia heat slowly began to subside, the Company still had their weekend passes. Friday meant the twelve mile march. As Alice stood outside the barracks by herself, decked out in her gear, she watched the men grumbling around in amusement. 

When Dick called out for them to fall into formation, she meandered to her usual spot. She liked to run towards the front half, where she could hear everyone. With the sun setting, they started off down the road. The frustration building in the Company boiled over in their second hour. She had expected something, but not from Bull Randleman.

"Lieutenant Winters!"

"What is it?"

"Permission to speak, sir?"

"Permission granted.

Alice wondered what he was going to say. She just swallowed down her own saliva in the absence of water. The night, though cooler than the day, still felt hot. Their gear didn't help.

"Sir, we've got nine companies, sir."

"We do."

Bull paused. The whole company was silent as he continued. "Why are we the only one marching every Friday, twelve miles, in the pitch dark."

Alice grimaced at the question. How Dick would answer that, she didn't know. He couldn't come out and insult Sobel.

"Why do you think, Private Randleman?"

"Lieutenant Sobel hates us, sir."

With a bite of her cheek, Alice tried to suppress a laugh at the statement. As much as she in fact hated Sobel, he did his job. Easy Company was the finest company in the 506th. She waited to see how Dick would respond.

"Lieutenant Sobel does not hate Easy Company, Private Randleman. He just hates you."

"Thank you, sir."

The whole platoon cracked up. Alice couldn't stop herself from joining them. As they all muttered varying degrees of agreement, her eyes met Dick's and he sent her a ghost of a smile. She returned it.

"Yeah but he hates Alice the most."

Alice chuckled, trying to figure out who had said it. Probably George. The others shouted in support of the statement. After their little bout of humor, the walk became less stressful. Sure, they still hated Sobel, but at least they all knew it and got it out of their systems.

Her body ached by the time they returned to Camp. As usual, Sobel stood waiting for them. In the dark they could still see the fury behind his eyes. They stood at attention as best they could. Alice looked to her right and saw Christenson, paler than usual and wobbling. 

"Are you sick?" she kept her voice low.

Christenson didn't respond. He just looked at her, fear etched on his face. Her heart ached as they prepared to pour out their water. She had a feeling she knew why Pat Christenson looked scared.

As the water poured to the ground, his canteen ran dry. Her heart sank. Sobel would make him do the march again, no matter how sick he was.

"Who is this?" Sobel all but ran towards them at the back. He glared down. "Christenson? Why is there no water in your canteen? You drank from your canteen!" With shout, he turned back. "Lieutenant Winters! Was this man ordered not to drink from his canteen?"

"He was, sir."

"You disobeyed a direct order. You will refill your canteen and repeat the twelve mile march again!"

Alice cringed. He looked about ready to fall over. Still, Christenson nodded. As Sobel barked at him to start, he hurried away, stumbling. With Dick occupied by a furious Sobel, Alice decided she'd find Nixon. They'd made it a habit to let her shower first. After grabbing her shower stuff and stripping off excess gear, she went back outside. 

Nixon stood smoking a cigarette near the door. Beside him, Dick seemed glum. He crossed his arms and looked over his shoulder.

"Ready?" Nixon gestured towards the Officers' showers.

Alice hummed. Dick trailed next to them as they made their slow way across camp. Sounds of the showers and disgruntled enlisted followed them the whole way.

Speirs walked out of the showers as they came up. He ran a small towel over his hair. "Easy Company certainly made a lot of noise tonight. Sobel was pissed at something."

"When's he not," muttered Nixon.

With a small grin, Speirs gestured to the showers. "All yours, Klein."

"Thank you." 

They watched her duck inside. Speirs took a cigarette that Nixon offered him and took a deep breath. He turned to the Easy Company officers. "How's Klein doing?"

"With training?" Nixon shrugged. "She's quick. Not as strong as a lot of the men, but she's holding her own."

Dick agreed. "I thought the obstacle course would be the hardest for her. But she's good at it."

"Yeah. She's good."

Speirs raised an eyebrow. "But?"

Nixon shrugged again. He took a deep breath of his smoke and let it out. "She needs to involve herself more with them."

"They don't like her?"

"It's not that they dislike her," Dick corrected. "They just don't know what to do with her. Private Luz does a good job of trying to get her to join them."

"Liebgott doesn't want to murder her anymore either," Nixon added. At Speirs' questioning look, he tried to explain. "Something about him being Austrian and her being German. He didn't like it."

Speirs nodded. "I notice she hasn't broken your nose in awhile."

Nixon laughed at his comment. Without even thinking, his hand went to his face. "Yeah, well. I totally pissed her off that time."

"What'd you do?"

Dick looked at Nixon and then cracked a smile. "Yeah, Lew, what did you do?"

With a grimace, he took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Look, I found out she'd gotten a letter. I was curious. I didn't know the letter said her whole family had all been killed."

"Shit," Speirs muttered through his cigarette. Around them, the smoke filled the air. In the light of the nearby lamppost, it had a white tint.

The shower stopped. The men stopped their gossiping and stood quietly. When she came out, she looked less smiley than she usually did after a warm shower.

"What's up?" Nixon asked her.

As she wrung out her hair a little more, she shook her head. She bit her lip. "I'm worried about Christenson." A brief moment of hesitation passed. "He looked quite sick. I think I'll stay up for him to get back."

Dick shrugged. "No bed check tonight. You'll be fine." He turned and went in to take his own shower. 

Alice didn't budge. Lost in thought, she stood with Nixon and Speirs as they finished their cigarettes. The former handed her a cigarette and a light.

"Thanks," she mumbled. The white cigarette bounced as she talked.

"Didn't know you cared about the men," Nixon joked.

But Alice glared and turned to face him. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and blew the smoke out slowly. "You talk too much." With a scoff, and a quick shake of her head, she continued. "I apologize if I've seen one too many people I care about get killed. It makes me a little hesitant to make myself best friends with people who will someday be heading into combat. But that doesn't mean I don't care about them."

Speirs looked from Alice to Nixon. Then he spoke up without any humor. "Nixon, I won't turn her in if she punches you again."

"It was a joke."

"Right." Alice rolled her eyes. With a yawn, she decided to head back to her E Company barracks. "Thank you for the cigarette, Lieutenant."

"Call me Ron."

Nixon looked at him like he was crazy. "You don't like when I call you Ron."

Speirs cracked a smile. He blew out a puff of smoke. "I like Klein more than you, Nixon."

Alice laughed. "Call me Alice."

"Hey, do we get the friend kisses Luz brags about?" 

"Unbelievable, Nix. That's what you are." But she walked back the few steps and gave them each two innocent kisses on alternating cheeks. "But, I would be remiss in my duty as the only French friend. _À demain_."

She walked back to her barracks. The camp had quieted down. As she walked through D Company's barracks, though, she heard laughter and then two men stumbled out of one. They positively reeked of alcohol. 

Before she could even react, one of them had grabbed arm. She tried to rip herself from his grasp. 

"Hey come on, you stupid broad." His words slurred from the drinks. "Just one little drinkin' game."

"You've had quite enough, Private. Let me go."

The other just laughed and stumbled, catching himself on a poll. The first, still gripping her arm, smiled. Finally Alice had had enough. With her left arm, she swung and punched him straight in the nose.

"Son of a bitch!" He stumbled back, clutching his face. "What the fuck? You fuckin'..."

Alice continued on her way quickly. But the second man had sobered up a bit and grabbed her by the arm as well. She tried to punch him too, but as she lunged, he ducked. Suddenly she felt a horrible pain on her stomach.

She half screamed, half shouted. Tears filled her eyes as she stumbled back. Grabbing at her side, she felt ripped fabric and blood on her hands. The man still held the knife.

Hunching over, Alice thought she going to throw up. The warm sticky blood seeped from the wound. Trying to keep pressure on it, she stumbled back. Several people had appeared at her pained scream.

"Scheisse." The wound burned as she pressed her shirt against it. 

Suddenly she felt someone put their arms around her shoulders. She was pulled back. Without meaning to she gasped as her pain increased with the movement.

The two who had attacked her weren't laughing for very long. In the dark, she thought she saw Liebgott and Guarnere both rush them. But her tears blurred her vision.

Someone was talking to her. She tried to focus on him, and not the pain. Alice felt someone pick her up. She realized it was Dick. "I can walk, I can walk."

"You couldn't even recognize me a moment ago," he argued. 

He didn't put her down despite her protests. Before too long, they were at the medical station. Eugene Roe stood cataloging supplies. He looked over in surprise when Dick entered.

"What happened?"

"Someone caught her with a knife."

Roe nodded. "Doc's sleeping, sir. I'll look at her if you'll go get him?"

Dick nodded and headed to find the ranking medical doctor. The table he'd put Alice on was made of metal and felt cold to the touch. Roe moved to her side and shifted the shirt free so he could see her stomach. At seven weeks, he'd almost finished his medical training. He grimaced at the wound.

" _Vais-je bien_?" She tried to force the involuntary tears away.

" _Je sais pas_." Then he forced a smile. "I think so, though."

Roe grabbed gauze and put pressure on the six inch long cut. It didn't appear to be too deep, but enough to bleed more than he liked. Once the bandages were in place, he got the supplies he figured the doctor would need.

It didn't take long before Dick and the doctor came in. Roe brought him up to speed on his observations and then assisted in cleaning and treating the wound. Moving aside, Dick watched. Before long, Speirs and Nixon joined him.

"They're with the MPs," Nixon told him. "How's it look?"

"They haven't said anything," replied Dick.

Speirs narrowed his eyes. The men had been from his company, in second platoon. "I told Sink what happened. He's not happy. He wants all the officers to speak to their men."

"Sobel's gonna be pissed," muttered Nixon.

Dick hummed in agreement. "How'd Guarnere and Liebgott get off?"

The two other officers had to suppress their smirks. Speirs shrugged. "Took a little while for the MPs to come. They seized their opportunity."

"Why am I not surprised you two didn't stop them," he muttered.

As if on cue, Bill Guarnere and Joe Liebgott all but limped into the tiny medical building. Roe and the officers glanced over to them. Liebgott held his jaw, massaging it. Gaunere had a few bruises forming on his face as well.

"You two don't look good."

"Better than the other guys," Nixon told Dick. He gave them a quick wink.

Guarnere grinned. "Just need some ice, sirs."

They stood to the side, waiting for Roe to finish assisting the doctor with Alice. Her eyes were closed. Finally, as Roe washed his hands, he produced two sacks of ice for Liebgott and Guarnere. As the doctor spoke to the officers, he let them know what they'd done.

"Gave her some morphine and stitched up the worst bit. It looked worse than it was. Probably hurt pretty bad though." He looked at them curiously. "What happened?"

"We ain't sure." Guarnere shrugged. He placed the ice on his jaw. "We were waitin' up for Christenson, and Alice cause she hadn't gotten back like she normally does after showering with the officers. Then she shouted."

"Sounded fucking painful," Liebgott added.

"Yeah. Some bastards from Dog Company had pulled a knife on her."

Leibgott nodded. "Lieutenant Speirs took 'em to the MPs."

They all straightened up as the officers came over. Dick told them to head back to the barracks. They still had weekend passes, he reminded them, and they'd do their best not to get in any more trouble. Roe stayed behind to finish his overnight duties, but Guarnere and Liebgott followed the Lieutenants back to barracks. The night stayed relatively calm despite the commotion.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice wakes up from the morphine.

When she moved, her skin felt heavy. Alice couldn't describe it any other way. Her left side hurt as she tried to shuffle in her cot. A groan escaped her. "Son of a…" She hissed.

At her voice, she saw movement to her right. Eugene Roe rubbed his eyes. His yawn betrayed him. He'd been up for the better part of the night. " _Salut! Ça va_?"

" _Comme ci, comme ça_." She tried to sit up. Looking around, she found herself in the barracks. "How did I get here?" 

"The doctor said we could move you back in here this morning. You're now part of my training." 

She smiled despite the pain. "Glad to be of service."

Eugene flashed her another smile. He knelt down beside the cot and checked the bandage. "Looks good. Morphine's wearin' off though so that'll be the test. But there's only a little discharge and it don't look infected."

"How'd Sobel take the news?"

"The news that you're on bed rest?" Eugene glared at the door. "Bout as well as you'd think. If Sink didn't think havin' a Maquis contact was so important you'd probably be outta here. Sobel says it was your fault for wandering around after dark."

"It was stupid," she admitted.

Eugene scoffed. "Doesn't make it your fault. Those D Company men were beyond drunk. I saw Lieutenant Speirs eyeing them last night when the one you punched came in for treatment. I heard a rumour he shot them both after that."

"Speirs?"

Eugene shrugged. "Someone said that in officer training school, he'd threaten people under him."

"I didn't take you for a gossip, Gene." 

He shrugged, a sheepish grin. "Yeah, well. Not typically."

"So how long do I have to stay here." 

"The cut wasn't too bad. We'll keep it covered for about four days, and once you're not in too much pain, you can start taking walks." He looked at her pointedly. "Careful, slow walks. With someone else."

Her grimace was unintentional. Gene didn't miss it though. He raised an eyebrow. "Don't fancy spending lots of time with the other guys."

"It's not that."

Gene hummed. "They think you're nice, you know. They like you." He stood and moved back to the cot on her right, which usually held George. He sat on it and yawned again. "Don't look at me like that. Luz told me you'd fit right in with his six sisters. I heard Guarnere say you'd give his brother Henry a run for his money in determination." As he let the information sink in, he paused. Then he started up again. "One thing they all say is that you look lonely. And sad, even though you try to hide it."

"You really are quite the gossip," she muttered. Alice rested her head back into her pillow.

He shrugged. "I hear a lot. Might as well put it to good use, _non_?" Then he laughed. "It really frustrates Luz. He doesn't know what to do with you."

She'd never heard Gene say so much in one sitting. A small smile crept into her expression. She tried to suppress it, but the knowledge that George couldn't figure out a way to make her laugh and it bothered him was oddly amusing to her. She shook her head ever so slightly while lying back in the pillow.

"Do you want to sit up more?" Gene looked at her carefully. "They gave me extra blankets."

She said please, and he grabbed some off the floor. Slowly he tucked them behind her pillow. She sat straighter, Gene careful to make sure it didn't aggravate the wound by scrunching her stomach too much.

"Lieutenant Winters wanted to know when you were awake. I'll be back." Confident that his charge looked comfortable, Gene hurried out of the barracks. 

Alice half lay, half sat against the pillows. Her mind reeled. She saw a few letters sitting at the base of almost all the beds. George's had the most. Suddenly the smallest things made her want to cry. She'd never receive another letter again. No one knew her but her ten person Maquis cell, and they didn't send friendly greetings. They sent war news. 

Even surrounded by her fellow soldiers, she felt alone. She suddenly very much wanted to tell them about her family. They couldn't be forgotten. She feared she'd forget them. Or her homes, or languages. She feared losing her heritage. Knowing Gene was willing to at least talk some French comforted her.

A few minutes later, Gene returned with both Dick and Nixon. They looked at her in concern and she forced herself to sit up further.

"How's it feel?" Nixon asked first. 

She looked at him. "Wonderful."

"More of that classic sarcasm," Nix said. He cracked a smile. "Yep, she's fine."

Dick huffed, but he flashed a smile. "Roe?"

Gene explained to them what he'd told Alice earlier. They nodded. Dick explained Sobel's ire. The whole time both Nixon and Gene looked beyond irritated.

"But, don't let it get to you." Dick nodded. "He's just–"

"He's a bastard."

"Nix!"

He turned to Gene. "Don't say anything."

"Of course not, sir."

Alice sent him a pointed stare. The medic refused to make eye contact. She turned back to the Lieutenants as Dick started up again.

"Easy Company was instructed to let you sleep, so they're outside somewhere."

"Did they ever decide what to do with their weekend passes? I know they were talking about Atlanta."

He flashed another small smile. "They all decided to stay around here."

She nodded. The pain had started to set in and Gene seemed to notice. "I've got some painkillers if you wan' 'em?"

"No, I'm fine. And I don't plan on sleeping, so they can come back in if they need." She gave a small cough and cringed. "Ow."

Nixon laughed. "Take the goddamn painkillers."

The two Lieutenants wished her good luck. Leaving her with just Gene, she saw him watching her in amusement. Her eyes narrowed.

"What?" she said.

He shrugged. Sitting on George's cot again, he yawned. They fell into peaceful quiet. He didn't say anything more and neither did she. But after about ten minutes, she broke the silence.

"Gene, in my footlocker there's a beret. It's at the bottom. Can you get it for me?"

It didn't take long for him to find it. It was black. He passed it to her. Alice took it gingerly in her hands. The felt cloth material molded to her touch. Finally she put it on, fitting it carefully over her blonde hair. Immediately she relaxed. 

Suddenly a group of Easy Company men bounded through the door, laughing. George led them at the front. He ran down the aisle. His cackling never stopped as he cowered in the corner. Joe Toye scrambled after him through the group. His clothes had water all down the front.

"Joe, Joe, you can't kill me yet. Not till Alice gives me a real kiss," he said, panting. 

"That's never happening," Joe growled back. He pushed forward again, past the cackling Skip Muck.

Gene was having none of it. "Both of you, get away from her. She's in no condition for this." He crossed his arms and stood near her bed side.

"What did he do?" Alice asked.

"The fucking idiot unscrewed the top of my canteen. The whole bottle emptied onto me." Joe looked ready to pummel him. But at the face of Gene Roe, he backed off. He turned to her. "How're you feeling?"

Only George's attempts at catching his breath made any noise as they all waited to hear. Skip Muck and Alex Penkala stood with Malarkey, and behind them closer to the door, Guarnere stood, disappointed he didn't get to see Toye destroy George Luz.

She shrugged. "It isn't pleasant. But I've had worse." Reaching up, slowly, she pulled down her shirt at the shoulder. About two inches below the shoulder itself, scarred tissue stood out extra pale and rough against her skin.

"Holy shit," George muttered.

Joe looked at her in surprise as the others crowded around. Even Gene looked at her in newfound concern. She could've laughed at their expressions if the very act wouldn't have hurt.

"You were shot?" Skip's shock mirrored all of their expressions. "What did it feel like?"

"I took a bullet on a sabotage job. It felt like someone had punched me and then burned the wound. We were lucky; the British had air-dropped supplies to us recently and they had sent medical aid." She shifted herself up again, and Gene helped. "Thank you. We were trying to blow up a bridge that the Nazis used. I took one in the shoulder and they got me back to our safe house in time for the local doctor to help. He was a supporter of the Free French." She paused. "The scariest part for me was feeling my blood leaving my body. It's warm, and it floods all over you. Sorry, that's a cheery thought."

"What's with the beret?" Guarnere looked at her curiously from his spot at the other end of the cot.

Alice took it off and looked at it. She hesitated for a moment. "Maquis pretty much all wear berets. They're common enough that we don't attract attention, but distinctive enough to let those of us who are looking understand the message." With a deep breath she held it up. "My cell all wore black ones."

"Crazy stuff," Penkala murmured.

She smiled. "If we ever get to France, watch for them. Not every person wearing a beret is Maquis or Underground, but many are."

"But I bet they don't look half as good as you wearing one." George wiggled his eyebrows. Then he winked at her.

Joe rolled his eyes. "Fucking hell, Luz."

But Alice just started laughing. Between curses over the pain in her stomach and tears from laughing, she just shook her head. For the first time in weeks, she had a real, genuine laugh. George looked pleased with himself. On the other side of the bed, Gene was smiling too. Not as wide, but enough that the others relaxed despite her curses of pain.

"You want a kiss, George?"

He brightened up. "Are you offering one?"

She grabbed his arm and yanked him down, landing one peck on his cheek, a real kiss as opposed to cheek contact. Muck, Penkala, and Malarkey whooped and hollered in amusement. Beside them, Joe Toye and Guarnere looked at Alice in amazement.

"Hey, Roe. You sure she ain't got a fever?" Guarnere walked over as George grinned from ear to ear and stood back up next to the bed. "I swear she's gone insane."

"Not insane. But I do need to keep you guessing." She shrugged. "Besides, that's as far as he's ever getting."

That sent them all cracking up again. Gene told them all to give her a rest, and this time she did accept the pain killers. As she waited for them to kick in, she rested quietly. The others sat around on their bunks opening letters and sharing them freely. Her heart began to hurt again. She wished she could share some, or even have ones to keep to herself. But all she had was the month old letter that had ruined her family.


	12. Chapter Twelve

She woke up gasping. Images of blood staining her hands filled her mind. She couldn't tell whose it was: hers, Robert's, Marc's, or Bernadette's. Her baby sister had mostly stayed out of her dreams. Alice sometimes wondered if she had managed to block it out somehow. But not that night.

They were fleeing someone. It was Paris in the summer, but all the streets were empty. Alice climbed up onto a balcony. She reached down. Bernadette's rosy face looked up. Blue eyes widened in terror. Alice had screamed for her to grab her hand. _Just grab my hand._

A crack sounded. A bullet had been shot between Bernadette's eyes, right above the ridge of her nose. From a hole the size of a dime, red blood poured into the Champs-Élysées, body falling limp. Her eyes hadn't even had a chance to close. She'd just screamed Adélaïde over and over and over, and then fallen completely silent.

Alice scrambled to sit up. The wound on her side screamed in pain at the rapid movement. But she didn't care. She forced herself up, out of bed. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Biting her cheek, Alice steadied herself and tried not to scream in pain or anger or fear.

She took a step forward. Stumbling, she gasped again and fell sideways into George's cot. She couldn't move.

"What the hell?"

She heard George sit up. Her breaths came quickly, despite trying to calm herself down. She had to get out. The room threatened to crush her.

"What the? Alice? God, you shouldn't be out of bed." He scuttled out from under the scratching sheets. With his pillow, he threw it across the room where they'd set up a cot for Gene. "Gene!" he hissed in a whisper.

With a smack, the pillow hit the medic. He grunted. George had no idea what to do as Alice tried to stand again. He could see the tears on her face. Gene, finally awake enough to see what had happened, ran over.

"Calmez-vous. Calmez-vous." He grabbed her and steadied her.

"Ils l'ont tuée. Ils l'ont tuée… non, je l'ai tuée."

"Qui?"

By now some of the others had started to stir. As Gene coaxed Alice back down, someone groaned. Guarnere barked a complaint in his half-woken state as the lights were flipped on.

"Shut up," George snapped. He looked genuinely scared as he watched the scene. The others picked up on his tone and quieted their complaints.

"Ils l'ont tuée!"

Gene got her to sit down. The room had fallen completely silent except for their French. Most of the boys sat watching them in concern. None of them knew what they said.

"Qui, Alice?"

"Bernadette, ma sœur."

"Pourquoi?"

"Parce que… parce que nous sommes juifs."

He looked at her in amazement. Putting an arm around her, he pulled her into a hug. She melted at the touch. After a moment, he whispered her a question in French. At first she didn't respond. Finally she nodded into his shoulder. With pained effort, they got her to lay back down. She covered her face with her arms, leaning towards the wall. Gene checked the bandage. To his relief, it was clear. Without speaking, he went to the small pack the doctor had made for him. He fished out a morphine syrette and injected her. She was out in a matter of moments.

"Holy shit." Liebgott, sitting in his cot, glanced from her to Gene. "What the fuck was that? What was she saying?"

"She panicked over her sister. Said that they'd killed her?" Gene looked confused. He frowned.

"Nazis," explained Bull. He told Gene about the letter she'd gotten a month ago.

"Did they kill 'er family because they're Jews?" No one had an answer. He frowned. "In the span of a single day, your tellin' me she lost her entire family?" Again, no response. Gene signed. "The Morphine'll keep her knocked out for awhile. She didn't do any harm to her stitches. She'll be fine."

George looked over at her. "She just fell into my bed."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Guarnere muttered.

George snapped back at him. "Shut the fuck up, Gonorrhea."

Joe Toye threw a pair of socks at Guarnere's face. The man grunted and went to snap back. But Johnny Martin had had enough.

"You all need to shut the fuck up." They fell quiet as his order. "Roe, what do you need from us?"

"Well, don't antagonize 'er. She hates lookin' weak in front of ya. She's told me she misses her brothers. Maybe you could ask about 'em? Get her to talk more? She needs to process this."

As Bull Randleman turned the lights back off, the group tried to settle. Neither George nor Gene slept well. They couldn't get her fear out of their heads. For a brief moment, they both found themselves doubting their resolve to go to war.

When the sun came up that Sunday morning, the men in the barracks tumbled out of bed crankier than usual. Gene offered to stay behind while they got breakfast. George stayed with him.

"She awake yet?" he asked.

Gene shook his head. "Soon probably."

"Jesus. I tell yah, Maria would love her." He sighed. "It's annoying as hell that we can't write home about her. Maria'd be so excited there's a girl at my job."

"It's for her own good."

"Yeah, I know." With a quick movement, he hoisted himself over the end of his cot and sifted through his footlocker. Finally be pulled out a new pack of cigarettes. "Gene?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Can I have one?"

They both turned around to look at Alice. Her eyes were droopy as she tried to push herself into a sitting position.

"Non, chérie." Gene moved over and they got her sitting up. He noticed the movement wasn't as harsh as the night before. "Pain less?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Jesus Christ, Alice!" George stood with his arms over his chest. The unlit cigarette hung from his mouth.

"Sorry."

"If you wanted to get into bed, you could've just asked me the normal way."

Gene shot George a look that if looks could kill, would've ended him on the spot. But after a brief moment, Alice just smiled and shook her head. Tears filled her eyes, but the smile barely faded.

"What, no witty response?"

Alice shrugged. She refused to let the tears fall. But they didn't budge from her bedside and she groaned, taking her own pillow and covering her face. Gene was having none of it. He pulled the pillow away from her.

"Hey! Give it back!"

"You need to talk to someone, chérie."

But she snapped. "Yes? Like who? You? George? Lieb? Toye? Guarnere? You would all love that I'm sure. Alice crying her eyes out into the strong men. Fucking hell. In case you couldn't tell, my family is gone, my brothers, my sister, my parents. My home is gone. My country is gone. I don't even get to speak my own language!" With a grunt, she lapsed into German. "Fick dich."

Now Alice sat at the receiving end of Gene's death stare. She held his gaze for a moment before tears blurred her vision. She turned away. "Can I have my pillow back?"

"You been sitting on the loss of your family for over a month."

"What do you want me to say, Gene?" She sighed, releasing some of the tension in her muscles. "My brothers were my life. I didn't even get to be there when the Nazis murdered them. And Bernadette…" She blinked away tears. "I wanted to free France for her, for her friends."

George hesitated. "What were your brothers like?"

With a shuddering sigh, Alice forced herself to sit up. Gene still held her pillow out of reach, but she forced herself to sit with her legs dangling off the bed. Finally, through a few tears, she forced a smile. She looked at George. "You remind me of Marc."

"I'll take that as a compliment," George joked after a moment of hesitation. When he saw Alice grin, he winked.

"Marc and Bernadette. They were the best of us." She wiped her face of tears. Taking the pillow Gene offered back, she dried her tears. "Bernadette she… she was beautiful. She danced. She sang. She had this golden hair braided perfectly down to her waist." Closing her eyes, Alice sighed. "We agreed never to carry her photo, in case we were ever found. We couldn't risk it. Marc though… he was so funny. He could make anyone laugh, and he cared so much about us. And now they're dead."

George didn't know what to do. He could only imagine Alice as Victoria, his oldest sister, born a few years after him. Fully convinced she would punch him for it, he braved her wrath and sat down on the cot next to her. The prospect of dying in the war and leaving his siblings behind wrecked him. He put an arm around Alice. To his surprise, she leaned into the embrace and cried silent tears.

After a few minutes, George looked at Gene. Her breathing had slowed. He looked at her in amazement. "Is she asleep?"

"Prob'ly the morphine. It's still in 'er system."

"Did she just fall asleep on me?"

Gene cracked a smile. "Don't go braggin' about it. You lucked out from the morphine, Luz."

"Right, Doc." George smirked at the nickname. "I like that. Doc."

With a roll of his eyes Gene stood up from where he'd crouched to check her wound again. He shook his head. "Just don't go sayin' it around the real docs."

"Private Roe! What are you doing impersonating a Doctor!" With his best Sobel impression, George made himself laugh. "That'd be pretty funny actually."

"For you."

George grinned at him, lopsided. He didn't move though, as Alice had rest her head on his shoulder. She'd fallen completely asleep. Gene lit his and George's cigarettes with his own lighter. As the smoke swirling around the room, they stayed put. Gene laid down. He read through a comic George pointed him towards. Alice just slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I don't provide translations, and that's on purpose. After all, the men don't know what she's saying.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Malarkey and Muck came back from breakfast first. They slipped into the barracks quietly. Both of them looked at George in surprise where he sat reading one of his letters, Alice asleep at his side. Gene got up and walked over.

"How is she?" Muck asked.

Gene shrugged. "She talked a little. Not about what spooked her though." Crossing his arms over his chest, he sighed. "The morphine's still in her system. That's why she fell asleep again."

"Lieutenants Nixon and Winters wanted to know how she's doing," said Malarkey.

"What'd you say?"

Muck scoffed. "Oh, you know, that she had a complete break down and woke us all up?"

Giving a tiny laugh, Malarkey shook his head. "We told them to talk to you."

"Right." Glancing back over his shoulder, he frowned. Then he just shook his head. "Her cut is healin' well. I have a feelin' that was part of the problem."

The door opened. Guarnere and Toye came in. The former laughed when he saw George with Alice. But they joined Gene, Malarkey, and Muck near the door quietly.

"Lieutenant Nixon was getting on my ass about her," Guarnere said.

With a nod, Gene said he'd talk to them. They stood in silence. Then Gene had an idea. He smiled.

"You all want to help?"

"With what?"

"Bringing her spirits up." Gene glanced back over to George who smiled. Then he turned to the small group. "We all get letters. She doesn't. It's been months and the only thing she's got told her her family'd all been killed."

"You want us to write her letters?" Toye looked skeptical. He shuffled his feet.

The others matched his expression. But Gene folded his arms. He gestured to her. "It ain't that hard. Pretend she's your sister. Would you want your sister to suffer alone like this."

Joe groaned. "Fucking hell." But he nodded. "Where you gonna get us enough paper?"

"Leave that to me. You just go find anyone else who is willin' to do this." He pushed the men out the door, leaving Muck behind with George.

Gene strode across the grounds. Mostly deserted, he easily caught sight of the lieutenants he looked for. They were sitting at a picnic table. Nixon cracked up over something, and he had his trusty flask in his hands.

Gene saluted when he came to their table. "Lieutenants."

"Private, how's Lieutenant Klein?" Dick returned the salute.

"She's doin' ok sir. The cut's healing nicely." He hesitated.

Nixon stopped his chuckling. "But?"

"Sirs, she's missin' her family. I, uh, assume you know what happened with them?" When they both nodded, he shuffled his feet again. Then he continued. "Sirs, some of the guys are goin' to write her letters, since she doesn't get them. If you'd like to, I'm sure she'd appreciate it from you. Sirs."

Dick nodded slowly. "That's a good idea."

With a nod, Nixon got up. He told Dick he'd be right back. "Come on. The PX has paper. I gotta buy some anyways."

Eugene followed Nixon through camp. The PX store sat on the far end. They passed a few Easy Company officers, and some from Able Company who'd lost their weekend passes as well. As they walked, Nixon turned to Gene.

"Someone told me you were all up this morning way before you were supposed to be." He took a drink of his flask. "What happened?"

"Sir?"

"Roe, I'm not blind. I'm not stupid either."

Gene gritted his teeth. "Of course not, sir."

"So, with that in mind, how's she really doing? If you're worried I'll report something, I won't. I trust her enough to bring something to our attention if it'll threaten this job."

"Yes sir." He hesitated, hurrying to walk next to Nixon. Gene signed. "She had a nightmare. Dreamed about her sister, Bernadette, gettin' killed for being a Jew. It scared her bad."

Nixon nodded. They reached the PX. Shelves of various nonperishable foods, cigarettes and lighters, toilet paper, pencils, pens, and other essentials lined the relatively large room. Nixon led him to the left corner. He took down a ream of paper.

"I'll pay. Consider it my contribution to the cheer up Alice fund."

"Thank you, sir."

Gene grabbed a couple packs of cigarettes as Nixon paid for the paper, envelopes, and ten pencils. With the letter materials paid for, he paid for the smokes, and left. Nixon took about a third of the paper for himself, and left the rest with Gene.

"Private."

"Sir?"

"Keep me updated."

Gene nodded. "Yes sir."

They split near the barracks. He took the two steps slowly. When he opened the door, he found Alice still asleep. He realized she must've been more tired than he'd expected. George had laid her back down in bed and moved himself with the rest to the other end of the barracks.

"Paper. Pencils. Envelopes." Gene set them down on Guarnere's bunk. When all they did was stare at them, Gene scoffed. "Come on. You're not scared are you?"

Guarnere glared at Gene. The medic didn't budge. But he did glance over his shoulder when they heard Alice cough. He gave them one last long look and walked over to her.

"Bonjour, chérie." He sat on George's cot and flashed her a small smile. "Ça va?"

"Oui, ça va." She sat up without too much difficulty. A little pain flared up but not too much.

Gene nodded again. "Good. D'you want to try walking outside?" When she nodded, he helped her stand. He watched her wobble only a little. He held her steady as she pulled her uniform pants on over her sleep shorts. "Ready?"

"Bonjour," George said.

At him attempting French, Alice smiled. She returned it. "Bonjour."

Then George hesitated. "What's it mean?"

Gene laughed, helping Alice through the aisle. "It means hello."

"Thanks, Doc."

They left the barracks behind. As they walked on the grass, it didn't take Alice too long to get herself steady. They walked silently for awhile, side by side, Alice walking uncharacteristically quiet. Her arms crossed her chest and she looked straight ahead.

"Your dream? Do you remember it?"

Alice sighed aloud. "Yes. I watched as they put a bullet in Bernadette's head. She tried to get to me. But I couldn't help her." She felt tears stinging her eyes again, but held them back. Her throat stung. "Gene?"

"Yes?"

"I apologise for all this."

He turned to her in surprise. But she looked serious. He scoffed. "For what?"

"When I was with the Maquis, we never had time to stop and grieve or process our dead family and friends. We had the mission." Alice shook her head as they rounded a building on the path. "Here, it's quiet. Too quiet. I made a fool of myself last night."

He stayed quiet for a moment. "No. You acted as anyone would losing a sibling violently. And you've lost three." Then he suppressed a smirk. "You can apologize to Luz though. I've never seen him scared the entire time we've been here like you scared him last night."

Alice gave a small, humorless laugh. They continued walking around slowly. Gene watched her for signs of pain, but it seemed the only hard parts were when she had to bend, compressing the cut. They walked for almost half an hour, mostly in silence. Neither minded.

As they rounded the way past the mess hall, a few Lieutenants wandered out. Roe saluted them, and Alice smiled when she saw Speirs. He walked over, leaving the other men.

"Private, Lieutenant." Speirs nodded to both of them.

Gene tensed up but greeted him. "Anything we can do for you, sir?"

"Actually, I can take Lieutenant Klein off your hands. The Doctor wanted you to check in with him about her progress." He turned to Alice. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad," she said with a smile.

Gene hesitated. But when Speirs sent him a look, he nodded. With a salute, he left Alice's side. She gave him a small smile of encouragement.

"How's it healing?" Ron asked her.

Alice shrugged. "Gene thinks it's going well. Last night I tripped, and he was worried I'd hurt it again, but he says it's fine."

They started walking again. Ron kept his hands in his pockets. When he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, Alice watched. He looked over. "You want one?"

"Please. Gene wouldn't give me one earlier."

Ron didn't say anything more. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to her. As she sucked in the air, he lit it. It came to life soon enough. She smiled.

"So, I heard you shot the men who did this."

Ron didn't look over at her. A tiny smile desperately tried to spread across his expression but he kept it down. "Did you, now?"

"One of the men in Easy heard it from someone in Fox." Alice paused to breath in the smoke. As they walked, she hummed.

Ron looked over at her. "That's a lot of hearsay. Do you believe it?"

"Hm." She turned towards him. They walked. "I believe you could've if you needed to. I think you would've even liked to. But, I didn't hear a gunshot."

"You would've been unconscious."

"True."

"If I did do it, those pieces of shit deserved it," he told her. "They attacked a superior officer."

"Oh does my rank count, now?" She didn't mean for it to come across as rude. Still, it came out harsh.

Ron looked at her. He frowned. "A rank is a rank. Having a woman as a lieutenant is odd, but it's the way it is. Having a woman in the army at all is odd." Then he smirked. "Of course, I also thought you didn't care about rank."

Alice found herself humming in agreement. "I didn't ask for all this. Because I know the most languages of the people I work with, they offered me to come here. Robert wanted to come, actually. My brother."

"Why didn't they send him?"

With a scoff, she shook her head. "Robert was reckless. If he hadn't been so damn good with explosives and already as far into the organization as he was, my Maquis family probably would've shot him themselves. Marc's execution hurt us both in ways I can't quite explain." Her tears returned, angry tears. She felt her jaw clench. She tried to release the tension.

They continued strolling, side by side. Dark clouds rolled on the horizon. Avoiding D Company's barracks became top priority as they neared them. Ron steered them away.

"You know, you talk a lot but you don't say much." Ron looked over at her. He noticed her body tensed again.

"Really?" With a roll of her eyes, she looked at him. "It's not like you say much either."

Ron smiled. He kicked a rock. "I never said it was a bad thing. Though Private Roe would probably disagree, being a medic and all." He shrugged. "The smartest people are often the quietest."

"No wonder you and Nix don't get along."

He laughed. "I like Nixon. He's a lot smarter than most people give him credit for. His problem is he cares too much, and he shows it."

"So it's better not to care?"

"Less chance of getting hurt. But no, it's better to be able to hide that you care if you're in a leadership position." He stopped. "When you're around people who you aren't leading, it can be different. But with D Company, for example, people can't know I care to the extent Nixon cares."

Alice stood by him. She watched him carefully. "That might be the most words you've ever said to me."

"Probably is." Ron continued on his way. "I like you. You're smart. You're driven. If you were a leader, you'd be good. You've got the secrecy down pat. But you're not very good at connecting to the people you aren't leading."

She didn't follow him right away. His words echoed in her mind. What he said was true. She didn't know how to connect. The people around her had almost no shared experiences outside of Toccoa. Trying to explain to them what it was like to live under the occupation seemed like an insurmountable task.

"Come on, Klein. Your medic might try to kill me if I didn't get you back inside before the rain."

They looked up. The dark clouds hovered above them. Alice hurried to catch up. She had a lot to think about.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Alice woke from her nap to the sound of pounding rain. When she'd reached the barracks with Ron, Gene had insisted she rest. She looked at the ceiling. The lights were on. Cigarette smoke wafted through the air, filling their sleeping quarters. Alice took a deep breath and let it calm her.

Looking right, she found Malarkey, Muck, Penkala, Luz, and Perconte sitting on a cot playing poker. Guarnere, Toye, Martin, and Randleman seemed to be playing their own game of cards, the latter two dripping wet. To her amusement, Gene sat in George's cot to her right, dozing off. They all seemed to be staying relatively quiet, to her surprise.

Alice glanced at her watch. "Scheisse," she muttered. She'd slept right through lunch. Her stomach hated her for it.

Half the guys looked over at her, including Gene. He sat straighter, shaking himself from sleep. "Je ne parle pas allemand, Alice."

She laughed. No, he didn't speak German. She needed Liebgott for that one. Then she remembered why she'd cursed. "I slept through lunch. You didn't wake me!"

"You needed sleep."

"Yes, well now I need food!"

Suddenly Muck threw a paper airplane at her. Alice dodged it at first, not realizing what if was. "What the hell?" She grabbed it. A cigarette was inside. Her eyes brightened. "Thanks!" Then she looked af Gene again. "You're not taking this one."

He rolled his eyes. Now that Alice had woken up, the group talked more. Groaning, the boys playing cards threw their hands down as Muck won the round. He grinned like a maniac.

"Pass the money, come on. Pass it." He collected his winnings and then moved off the bed.

Malarkey glared at him. "You can't win and quit!"

"I'll give you a chance to win it back later. I have to write a letter." Skip Muck settled down and grabbed a pencil and paper. He used a book as a table and set to work.

Penkala rolled his eyes with a smile. "Who to? Faye Tanner?"

"Sweet, sweet Faye," George added with a grin. "Is that who you're writin', Skip?"

"The one and only, boys. The one and only."

Alice cracked a smile at their antics. Every time Muck talked about Faye, he blushed. The sweetheart he left back home would be lucky. Any idiot could see how much he loved her.

"She ain't as good as Frannie." Guarnere looked over from where he'd folded in his poker game. Getting up, he stretched his arms and walked around. Finally he plopped down next to Alice. "Frannie could even give Alice a run for 'er money."

"Thank you Bill. I don't think I've given you one of these before unless it was for a cigarette." Alice leaned over, pressed her cheek on his and kissed him. With a tiny wink, she turned to where the boys laughed.

Gene sent her a tiny smile. She returned it, not even wincing at the slight pain in her side as Guarnere put his arm around her as he was chatting about his girl, Frannie.

"Maria is still the love of my life." George had finally stopped shuffling the cards. With a last puff of his cigarette, he put it out, and wandered back over to his vacant bunk. "At least, until Alice falls for me."

"Your sister is cuter than I will ever be," Alice argued with a laugh. "Every letter from her that you've shared is precious."

Guarnere got up from her bedside and walked over to his cot. While he fished around in his footlocker, he turned. "We know you ain't got a man now, sweetheart, but I find it hard to believe no one's ever been sweet on yah? Anybody your brothers had to fight off?" He winked her way.

"Only one," said Alice. She yawned. "Alain Dufont. He was a couple years older than me. We hit it off when I started working in the Underground." She shrugged, and smiled a bit. "We ended it when the Resistance became more of a target for the Nazis. We disagreed on how far we could go in putting up a fight."

"What was he like?"

"Smart. We were both students when we met. He studied Maths and I studied English and Dutch." With a shrug, she breathed in the cigarette smoke. "He helped organize the student resistance groups. But when we started committing sabotage, he flipped. Said not to use violence."

Joe Toye scoffed. "Because that worked so fucking well."

Alice hummed in agreement. "Needless to say, we disagreed. We broke it off, and a month later Robert and I ended up on the run and joining the Maquis. I haven't heard anything about him since."

"When the war's won, do you want to live in Germany or France?" asked Frank Perconte.

Stiffening at the question, she looked at them all. "Let's win the war first, no? Then we'll see what's standing in the ashes."

The dinner bell sounded. Gene was nowhere to be seen, having slipped out earlier. Hesitating as the others hurried out the door, she stood slowly and put on her jacket. The room emptied.

"Need help?" George poked his head back around the door. Then he started impersonating Gene Roe. "If she hurts herself again, you're all in trouble."

She grinned and thanked him. "Please. I should be all right, but I want to avoid falling if possible."

As George waited for her by the door, he crossed his arms. "Hey, listen. I want to say something first."

She tilted her head. With absolutely no idea where it was going, Alice waited. She saw him take a deep breath.

"If the flirting makes you uncomfortable, let me know. The boys all find it hilarious," he said. Then he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm tryin' to make them laugh. But I mean it-"

Alice laughed. "You're all right. Marc was just like you, remember. I can handle myself. And they do find it quite funny. Seeing them laugh is nice. Better than seeing them ready to murder Sobel."

George agreed, doing a Sobel impersonation as they walked out the door. The sun came out. A terrible stickiness filled the air as the water rose from the ground. They took the walk slowly. When they walked inside, the Mess Hall was mostly empty thanks to all the companies who had weekend passes.

"I think I'll sit with the Lieutenants," she told George. "I'll bet they're wondering what I've been up to."

He nodded. After they stood in line for food, she thanked him and split from Easy Company. She spotted Nixon and Dick at their usual table. Alice sat down carefully. She hissed in pain as she bent to sit next to Dick.

"Hey look who it is." Nixon smiled at her, and Dick followed suit. "Hey Dick, does she look… I don't know. Older?"

Alice just scrunched her nose. "What?"

"Nix…"

"You've got this fierce look. Like a fighter." He grinned as she narrowed her eyes. "All roughed up now."

"I'll show you roughed up when I break your damn nose," she said, "again." Alice carefully started on her food as Nixon laughed. It tasted worse than usual.

Ron Speirs walked over to them. He nodded and sat down next to Nixon, across from Alice. "E Company going crazy yet?"

"Honestly they could use a weekend off base," agreed Dick. But he shrugged. "Not much to do about it though."

Alice scoffed, playing with her food. Of all the members of Easy Company, she remained the only one who had yet to be allowed a weekend pass. Sobel always found a way to restrict her, leaving her on base. Usually it wasn't so bad. She had yet to be the only one at a single time, so a few men were always there too.

"Still no weekend pass for you?" Ron asked. He shovelled some food into his mouth.

"To be honest, I don't think I'll ever get one," she told him. "Not since I went over his head."

As Nixon grinned and Dick nodded, Ron looked confused. He asked her what she meant. But Dick jumped in.

"You mean the beret incident?"

Alice nodded, trying to suppress a smirk. Then she tried to explain. "A few weeks ago, Sobel went through my stuff for contraband. I had a few things, since I don't have a home anymore. I would've let it slide, but he tried to confiscate my beret." She saw Ron still looked confused. "Maquis wear them as a sign to others in our organization. I went straight to Colonel Sink and all but told him that if I didn't get my beret back, at least, I would up and quit right then and they could find someone else to fill my position. Sink saw my point and agreed in my favor."

Nixon outright giggled. Dick proceeded to calmly eat, a smile tugging at his lips. But Ron just covered his mouth with a napkin to hide his grin.

"You've got guts, Alice," Ron then continued, eating. He ate more like Dick than Nixon, taking his time with his food. He seemed deep in thought.

She just shrugged. "He wasn't going to take that from me."

They finished up their meals relatively quickly. Alice finished first, starving from missing lunch. Nixon, ever the fastest eater of the little group, offered to walk her back. She went to object, but all three of the men insisted she wasn't to walk alone.

"Fine. If I punch him in the face, that's not on me." She stood from the table with only a little pain. With a quick goodbye, she started out the door.

Nixon jogged to catch up, so she slowed down right outside. They strolled along the gravel paths, the grassy areas muddy from the large rainfall. The stone crunched with each step.

"So. Roe told me about what happened."

Alice's head whipped around so fast she almost hurt her neck. "He what?"

"Relax. I made him tell me. I could tell something was up when he gave us a progress update on the cut." He paused before continuing. "Have you been better since?"

"I was able to sleep this afternoon," she said. To her own irritation, she could hear her accent getting thicker with her increasing anxiety. "I hope it does not happen again tonight. It was… unsettling."

Nixon hesitated. "You really think they executed your teenage sister for being Jewish?"

"I hope they did." Alice stopped, and turned to him. She saw his surprise. "If they did not, then I am sure worse is in store. I have heard stories of the Nazis raping female prisoners, and then they disappear."

"You don't think they could release her?"

"Release her?" Alice felt herself getting more worked up. "Lewis, I thought you are supposed to know things. Jews do not get released. They disappear. Every time." She started down the path again, her body trembling. The cold, dull ache of the trauma hit her again like a brick wall. Her very heart hurt, chest constricting.

Nixon hurried to catch up with her. "I'll try to find out what happened, see if I can pull some strings," he said. "Maybe we can at least get a definitive answer."

Studying his expression, she paused. Alice decided he was being honest. She nodded. They walked the last dozen yards to her Easy Company barracks. With a heavy heart, she sighed. "I better sit down before Gene gets too angry with me."

Nixon laughed. "Good idea." As she walked up the last step, he said her name again. "Alice. I found this. It was addressed to you." He held out an envelope.

She took it. The handwriting that had scrawled her name across the front looked equal parts proper and messy. Someone who knew who to write well, perhaps, but didn't want to take the time to be detailed.

"Odd. Thank you." Alice stuck it in her jacket pocket. "Good night."

"Bonne soirée," he said, winking.

Alice watched him walk away. Her hands tensed as she took the letter out of her hands. The door fell shut behind her. All the envelope said was Alice Klein.

She used her finger to push up the flap. It tore open. Alice meandered over to her bunk as she took the paper out. Unfolding it, she felt the smooth paper against her skin. It hadn't been in the mail long. To her shock, the writing was in French, with some grammar mistakes.

_"Dear Alice Klein,_

_"Or, I should preface that with Lieutenant. It's Lewis Nixon. I bet you're surprised. Private Roe seemed to think you might be a little upset at not having anyone to send you letters. He asked a few of us to do it for you. And since I figured you might get bored without training, I agreed._

_"Sobel's being a son of a bitch as usual, and it's only been a couple days. Be sure to keep this away from him so we both don't get in trouble. I still have hope of getting a weekend pass at some point in my life. Maybe I should give up on that dream though. My wife sure thinks I won't._

_"Dick is dreading Currahee tomorrow without you. He wouldn't admit to that though. But he seems to think the men do better when you're around. Also you better be back to training by Friday night because I'm sure we're all going to need your singing. And I think Ron secretly enjoys the two minute interactions we all have at the showers. But he'd never admit to that, either._

_"Speaking of Ronald Speirs, I don't think you understand how unbelievable it is that he likes you. Because he does. He doesn't like very many people at all but he thinks you're smart. Not sure how good of a judge of character either of us are, but for what it's worth I think he's right. Which brings me to my next point._

_"Remember that advice I gave you over a month ago? I don't think you took it. You need to open up to the men in your platoon, at least. When you get into combat, they're going to be the ones who matter. They need to trust you as much as you need to trust them. So, I'll say it again. Take my advice._

_"Good luck avoiding our jackass of a CO. Have fun not running Currahee._

_"Lewis Nixon_

_Second Lieutenant - Easy Company."_

Alice hadn't even sat down. She stood next to her bed, flipping through the mostly well-written French script. A tiny smile graced her features. She had to thank Gene, and Nix. Suddenly she felt bad about snapping at him.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

By Wednesday, Alice felt herself going stir crazy. The doctor had looked at her wound. All signs pointed to her making a full and speedy recovery. But for Alice, it couldn't happen fast enough. They still restricted her activities. No running Currahee, no weight training, only prescribed stretches, and definitely no combat training. On top of all that, the boys disappeared at 0500 and didn't return for any meaningful amount of time until dinner. And as much as she found herself loathe to admit, she really, genuinely missed them.

She took a walk by herself while the boys ran Currahee after lunch. That morning, Sobel had been promoted to Captain, and he took great pleasure in forcing the also newly promoted Dick Winters to cook a spaghetti meal for the men. Of course, being Sobel, he'd also decided to cancel lecture after lunch in favor of Currahee. Alice could only imagine how terrible the men would be feeling. And on top of feeling for the men, Alice felt incredibly dejected to not be able to sit in on a lecture with her friends.

Friends. The word felt heavy in her mind. She'd often off the cuff mentioned friendship to them. When George had started the cheek kissing, he'd said friend. But for the first time since arriving in America, Alice truly believed it. They were friends. And it hurt her to think so. She'd never been in the sort of combat that likely awaited the 506th someday, but she'd lost Maquis fighters. It hurt, every single time.

Along with Winters and Sobel's promotions, the men had received a few over a couple of days. Lipton, Talbert, Ranney, and Harris became Sergeants, and many of the rest of the men were promoted to Corporal. By Tuesday morning they had already lost their weekend passes due to miniscule infractions.

As Alice contemplated the murder of Sobel, she rounded the barracks. The men of Easy Company strode out of their barracks, towels and shower kits in hand. Many of them looked worse for wear, and she saw Gene and Spina looking over a few. Alice frowned. She spotted Nixon and Dick walking side by side. The former's eyes blazed in anger. She jogged to join them.

"Didn't go well?" Alice looked back at the men again. Then she looked the two Lieutenants up and down. "Are you two all right?"

"The men managed," Dick said.

But Nixon scoffed. "Sobel's a bastard. A smart bastard, but still a bastard. The company hates him so much he may wake up with a grenade in his shorts someday."

"Nix you can't just talk like that."

But Nixon just scoffed. Alice left them to go shower, turning instead back to the enlisted men. She hurried back to the barracks. To her surprise, a letter sat on her bed. Alice looked at it carefully. It definitely wasn't Nixon's. The handwriting on the envelope looked scratchy, quickly written. She opened it, sitting on her cot. Immediately she smiled.

_"Dear love of my life,_

_"I bet you can guess it's George Luz. Doc came up with the idea to write you letters and I figured I'd take advantage of being able to write you a love letter while I could. Frank is brushing his teeth as I write this. That man is crazy about his dental hygiene._

_"Hope you're enjoying no Currahee. I tried to take up your singing talent today (Monday), but I don't think the boys like me as much as your French. Can't say I blame them. Jesus, your French is amazing. Are all you French people amazing, or is it just you?_

_"I don't know what to say in this. So maybe I'll just ask some questions. Since, you know, we actually don't know that much about you._

_"1. What's your favorite color (this is Maria's favorite question so I need to ask it)_

_"2. Do you prefer to think of yourself as French or German?_

_"3. When's your birthday?_

_"See you after dinner,_

_"Corporal George Luz."_

Alice put the letter down as the barracks door opened. Liebgott, Muck, and Malarkey wandered in. The foremost still ran a towel over his hair. He looked absolutely furious, and the others didn't look much happier.

For a moment, Alice considered asking about the run. But the looks on their faces stopped her. Slowly the men trickled in from the showers, most of them looking horribly sick. Half an hour later, Gene came by.

"Sink's talked to the doctors. We're all off the rest of the day." He then stopped by Alice's cot.

"Salut," she said. She shot him a small smile.

Gene nodded, sighing. He ran a hand over his face. "Ça va?"

"Oui, ça va, mais nos amis ne sont pas." She looked past Gene at the others.

He agreed that the men looked worse for wear. With a frown, he turned back to her. "Spina's checking on first platoon. I'm supposed to check on third now. Watch them for me."

As he left, she smiled. "Gene, merci, pour les lettres."

His quick nod and smile made her feel a little less helpless. She looked around. The men groaned in their beds, a few with helmets grasped close in case of vomiting. George, Perconte, and Penkala wandered in last and collapsed, still slightly wet from their showers.

Suddenly George grabbed his helmet and started retching. Alice felt herself hurting inside for him. He looked white as a sheet. If she hadn't realized before that she considered these men friends, she did then. Alice moved. She sat next to George who didn't even have a ghost of a smile. She held his forehead as he struggled to throw up again into his helmet.

"Tu vas bien, tu vas bien."

She held him as the trembling stopped. Then she let him lay back down, getting up and taking a few of the buckets from other victims outside. There, she ran into Gene who took them and handed her some bedpans instead.

Liebgott was next. She ran a hand through his damp hair and held him until his body had had enough. He didn't say anything as she moved away, just watched her. With each man, she did her best to help them without crossing boundaries. As much as she desired to hold them, ease their pain, she knew some would take the contact better than others.

After about an hour, Alice sighed and wandered out of the barracks. Most of, if not all, the men had fallen asleep. She sat on the step and watched a few other companies running around Camp Toccoa. To her pleasant surprise, Dick and Nixon trailed over to her.

"How are they?" Dick asked.

Alice sighed. "I think they're finally all sleeping. One of you wouldn't mind waiting while I take a shower, would you?"

"Of course not," said Dick. "Go get your stuff."

She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. Then she nodded. Slipping inside took all the skill she had to not wake them up. She grabbed her shower kit, towel, and change of uniform. Both Nixon and Dick stood waiting.

"How much trouble would I get in if Sobel accidentally broke his leg?" Alice muttered. "Accidentally of course."

"Well if it was an accident, no trouble at all," said Nixon.

To her surprise, Dick didn't even make an admonishing comment. They walked over to the Officers' showers. Fox Company ran in groups of eight around the footpaths. They gave Alice contempt glances with every pass. She ignored them.

"Thank you. I won't take long."

She stepped into the showers and began to strip. With her clothes to the side, she pulled the chain to turn on the water. It ran warm over her skin, finding ever crevice to clean. She gingerly cleaned the ugly red scab over her left stomach and side. It felt glorious to be clean. With each scrub of her hair, she felt the weight of the world lift off her shoulders. Eventually she just stood, face under the stream of water. But she knew she needed to turn off the water. Alice did so with a sigh. Her towel did a decent dry job. Once all her clothes were on, she focused on her hair. It fell in slightly tangled golden waves to just below her shoulders.

She stepped out of the showers and found the two other Lieutenants muttering. Nixon had his flask out. She grimaced at them.

"Drink?" Nixon offered.

Alice hesitated and then shrugged. "Why not."

She took his flask and sniffed it. It smelled like scotch whiskey. And when the slight burning coated her tongue and throat, she knew she was right. Alice handed it back.

"Vat 69. The best," he added. Then he took his own drink. Offering it to Dick, Nixon laughed at his insistent 'no'.

She shrugged. "I prefer wine myself."

They trio made their quiet way back to the barracks. As they walked, a runner came for Dick. Colonel Sink wanted to speak to him. So Nixon and Alice continued on by themselves. She had yet to thank him for the letter from Sunday.

"Nix," she said. Then she hesitated. "I wanted to say thank you. For the letter."

He laughed. "You had me worried for a second. Don't pause after using a nickname."

Alice looked at him and laughed. "Sorry."

They reached the barracks and she thanked him again, this time for walking her over. As she took the step up, she steeled herself for whatever she might find. She hoped they were all still asleep. She had to think about George's letter.

"Hey, Alice." When she turned around at Nixon's words, he raised his flask. "Take my advice." Then he walked away.

Alice turned back to the door. She turned the handle quietly. To her immense relief, the boys still slept soundly. She tiptoed as much as she could wearing combat boots. Sitting down on the side of her bed, she smiled at their peaceful faces. Alice used her towel to dry her hair a bit more. With a quick brushing and taking off her boots, she settled against the wall on her cot.

Les Misérables comforted her as she sat, it weighing in her lap, closed. She let her mind wander back to France. If she closed her eyes, she could smell the patisserie, and the taste of mulled wine being vendored on the way up to Sacré Cœur. Her gaze would roam over the green art boxes along the Seine. And her language, the beautiful language her mama had whispered in her ear every night before bed, would accompany her.

She could see Bernadette dancing in their flat. Her feet would glide over the dark wood floors, and her beautiful voice would entwine with Alice's own as they sang melodies their mama composed for them. And Marc would laugh, and spin Bernadette in circles until the girl fell, dizzy, to the ground. Alice would sit with Robert, digging into the cheese and crackers their father had bought that morning. And mama and father would clap, and laugh. Finally they would get up to, and join Marc and Bernadette dancing. Bernadette would pull Alice by the hand, and soon she would be twirling alongside Robert in an effort to appease their youngest sibling.

"Je suis désolé," she whispered.

And she was. She was so sorry, sorry that the world would miss the laughter her siblings brought to the world. She regretted that her Mama's melodies had been silenced. And most of all, she was sorry they would never see a world without the Nazis.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up against the wall. Her neck ached as she turned her head to look at the men. Some of them were missing, others sat looking at or writing letters, or playing poker. Only half the lights were on.

The cot creaked as she shifted to the side. When the boys glanced over, she studied them. Then she smiled. "You all look much better. I like you more when you aren't sick."

"Thank fucking Sobel for that one," Bill Guarnere snapped. He shuffled a deck of cards. "What a fucking asshole."

Alice hummed in agreement. She hesitated as they all went back to their activities. Her heart raced. She saw two options, and she didn't feel well about either one. She could go find Nixon or Ron or even Dick, and then be lectured about not opening up to the men who would be responsible for her life someday. Or, she could try to relate to them.

"Hey sweetheart don't think so hard, your brain might explode." Bill grinned when she glanced up at him. He held up the deck of cards. "D'ya know how to play poker?"

"Yes."

Everyone in the room looked over. Bill, Joe Toye, Malarkey, and Liebgott, who all sat playing poker and smoking, seemed the most surprised. But even Muck, writing Faye Tanner, and Perconte who sat reading turned to her.

Bill took his cigarette out of his mouth. "You mean you been sitting over there every time we played for almost three months and haven't said anything?" Before she could respond, he put the cards down. "Get over here. You're playing."

"I don't-"

"Come on! We'll go easy on yah." Bill winked at her and started dealing cards. He dealt five hands.

"Yeah, come on," Don Malarkey added. "Get your officer pay over here!"

Alice gave a short laugh. With a quick shake of her head, she got out about ten dollars from her footlocker. "That's the problem. I don't make enough to spend it gambling."

Bill looked at her and laughed. "What? You're a Lieutenant, for Christ's sake."

"A Lieutenant in name only."

"The fuck's that supposed to mean?" Liebgott seemed incredulous. "What do you make?"

As she sat down on the cot beside Liebgott, she shrugged. "It doesn't matter." She picked up her hand and looked at it carefully. "One hand, boys. That's it."

"The fuck it doesn't matter," Liebgott objected. He put down his cards. "What do you make?"

Alice sighed. "Come on. Play or I'm out."

Toye nodded. He took another long draw of smoke. "Let's play. Drop it you two."

They played a quick round. Malarkey ended up coming out ahead. Bill and Liebgott still looked irritated at her comment, or she supposed, at not fully understanding her comment. She had to admit, she enjoyed spending time with them. Though poker had never been her best or favorite game. Robert had excelled at it. She thanked them for the game and for taking her ten bucks, retreated to her cot, and yawned.

Suddenly the door to the barracks swung open and George Luz bounded in with Gene Roe next to him. The former looked quite pleased with himself. A cool breeze swept through the room.

"Gentlemen, and lady," George began, "I'm pleased to announce a single victory in the disaster of today." He cleared his throat. In his best Colonel Sink impersonation, he continued on. "Weekend passes restored! You boys went through hell today, and came out the wiser. Enjoy a 48 hour pass this weekend."

"Luz, if this is a fuckin' joke."

"Corporal Toye, I wouldn't joke about this." He winked. Then he turned to Alice. Pulling his hand from behind his back, he threw something at her. "Catch, my lady."

Alice grabbed the flying object. She looked down at it, confused. "Hershey's?"

"She gets a free Hershey bar?" Liebgott stared back at George in shock. "What about the rest of us. We were the sick ones!"

She sniffed it. George laughed at her. He shook his head. "Alice, it's chocolate."

Her eyes lit up. A wide smile graced her features. She thought she was going to cry. "I haven't had chocolate in almost two years."

"Now that's gotta be the saddest thing I've ever heard," Muck commented.

Gene made his way over to her. He reached into his pockets and sat down next to her on her cot. "Here." Three packs of Lucky Strikes lay in his hand. "The guys chipped in. As a thank you. Ils vous aiment, Alice." At the looked she sent him, he shrugged. "C'est vrai."

A lump formed in her throat. She didn't know what to say to Gene's comfort that they liked her company. As George settled down to play cards with the others, she unwrapped the Hershey's bar. The wrap crinkled as she tore it. Soon she had a thick bar of chocolate in her hands. With a smirk, she broke off a piece. "Hey, Liebgott." He glanced over. She grinned again. With a quick toss, she sent him a piece. "Here."

He caught it, barely keeping it away from George's outstretched hands. Alice turned back to the bar and broke another piece off for herself. She hesitantly brought it to her mouth and let it melt. Not as good as German chocolate, but after a year without anything, it tasted like heaven.

As she chewed on the chocolate, Gene beside her quietly, she contemplated saying something. She considered the letter George had sent her. She considered the questions. Finally, she made up her mind.

"I think I'll take you all to Paris someday." Placing the half eaten chocolate to the side, she watched them all play poker. "The walk along the Seine at night, it's breathtaking. The lights play games in the water."

"How long did you live there?" Gene asked.

"I was fourteen when we moved from Hamburg to Paris. Lived there for about six years." Alice fished in her pocket for her small, silver lighter. The small flame lit her cigarette and she took a puff of smoke. After a few more breaths, she felt the weight of the world lift off her shoulders for a few moments. "Of course, the Elbe in Hamburg was beautiful too. But they don't call Paris the City of Light for nothing."

"Why'd you move?" Malarkey asked.

"Jews were no longer welcome in Germany." With a sigh, she took the cigarette out. "We moved before things could get worse. When Hitler took over Germany, everything started to change." She paused again. "But Paris was good to us. My sister loved dance, and my mother had been a musician. I took after her, and studied piano and voice alongside language. Music is just another language, after all. A universal one."

"Sing somethin'," Bill said, throwing his card hand down and folding. He stood up.

Alice hummed a moment in contemplation. Finally she sighed. "I know some English lyrics to the song I often sing. La Vie en Rose."

With the card game over again, Toye happily taking the pot of money, the boys split. Outside the window, the sun had disappeared beneath the treeline. The moon shone above. Alice closed her eyes.

_"Hold me close and hold me fast_

_The magic spell you cast_

_This is la vie en rose."_

Her mama had sung the song, when Alice had come home with the lyrics and melody. Together they'd sat at the piano. Together they'd crafted the music.

_"When you kiss me, heaven sighs_

_And though I close my eyes_

_I see la vie en rose_

_When you press me to your heart_

_I'm in a world apart_

_A world where roses bloom."_

She didn't even notice that the room had gone totally silent. Only her voice pierced it. She kept her eyes closed, imagining her home.

_"And when you speak_

_Angels sing from above_

_Everyday words_

_Seem to turn into love songs."_

Alice imagined Bernadette's golden hair, braided perfectly down to her waist with a few small curls near her face, twirling to an invisible piano. She could see out the window at the Eiffel Tower near the Seine, the bridges spanning the beautiful river against the setting sun. She could hear her language.

_"Give your heart and soul to me_

_And life will always be_

_La vie en rose."_

When she finished, her eyes remained closed. Her whole being wished to stay in that place, before the Nazis had occupied her home, again. Before her friends had been slaughtered in their invasion, and her Jewish community heckled and abused. A few tears streamed down her cheeks. Still, she refused to open her eyes. But finally, she did.

"I think I'll take a walk," she choked out. Her voice came out rougher than she'd meant it to.

But Gene grabbed her sleeve. "Parlez."

"Je ne veux pas parler!" She ripped her sleeve from his grasp. "Vous ne pouvez pas comprendre."

"Parlez." His expression softened. "Tu les calmes."

"Pour quoi?" She breathed out and sat back down glaring at him. He just glared back. Finally, she sighed and released the tension in her shoulders. She sat back down.

"Je sais pas. Mais, c'est vrai."

"I hate not knowing what you two are saying," George groaned. He pushed himself up against the wall on his cot.

Alice laughed, and Gene flashed a small smile. She shrugged. "Learn French, George. Your pronunciation would likely come easy, given your skills as impersonation." After a moment, she smiled again. Alice reached into her pocket. She pulled out George's letter.

"The answer to your first question, clearly the most important one since it's Maria's favorite, is my favorite color is rose pink."

They all looked at her curiously. Even the men who had started writing letters to home of their own tuned into the conversation. She smiled again.

"My codename we shared with British Intelligence was La Rose de Paris, or La Rose," she explained. "There are several spies and operatives with various codenames, including Tigre, or Tiger, who Americans and British work with."

"You had a codename?" Don Malarkey looked at her in amazement from where he counted his poker winnings.

"Many of us do. Germaine, she was the best of us. We don't know her real name, of course, but she helped the Resistance organize." Then Alice looked down at question number two. "I do not choose between being German or being French. I'm both. Equally. I remember more of life in France, but my life in Hamburg was beautiful too." She took a deep breath of her cigarette. "I don't care which you call me. I assume French is less awkward and upsetting to Americans, though to be honest I'm not sure why. If I don't hate Germany, what right do Americans who have never set foot in Europe have to hate an entire people?" The room quieted, and she signed. "Sorry. That was uncalled for."

"Last question," George said with a wink. "The most important, if I may say so myself."

"Which you do," she replied. But she grinned. "George Luz would like to know my birthday. I'm not sure I'm inclined to share."

"Ah, come on," Liebgott said. He may on his back, tossing a wadded up sock up in the air and catching it. "What's so secret about a birthday?"

Alice smirked. "Never knew you cared."

"Hey, come on. We care," Joe Toye muttered. Taking his boots off slowly, he frowned. The boot got stuck. "Fucking thing."

"December 24th."

"Christmas Eve?" George looked at her in surprise. "That must be annoying."

She just laughed. "I'm Jewish, remember? That doesn't really matter to me."

Alice stood from her bed, smiling to herself. Her uniform started to feel heavy on her body. Taking her sleeping clothes from the footlocker at the base of her cot, Alice stepped behind the screen and changed. She wanted to read Les Misérables before bed. With her legs under the scratchy bed sheets, Alice sat against the wall and propped her book up on her knees. The room slowly devolved into small, individual conversations, and the men who didn't sleep in their barracks left, including Gene.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A final Toccoa chapter

With weekend passes guaranteed, Sobel pushed the men harder than usual. But spirits stayed high. When Saturday finally dawned, everyone seemed happier than usual. The sun shined clear in the sky, only a few clouds above them. A handful of the guys decided to head into Atlanta for the day, but Alice just wanted to go out that night. Skinny Sisk had heard some of the guys in Baker Company chatting about a great bar they'd found.

Alice decided when she woke up that morning on a single thing. She would have fun that night. Nothing was going to stop her from enjoying an evening out. She'd spoken with Colonel Sink and been granted permission to be out of dress uniform that night. All Alice wanted to do was dance. She figured she couldn't save Bernadette, but she could honor her.

Alice left the showers that morning, Ron waiting for her. Nixon and Dick had been nowhere to be found, but she'd caught sight of Ron half way through her walk around camp. He stood smoking.

"Thanks for waiting," she said with a quick smile. Using her hands, she tried to wring out the excess water as best she could. "Do you have a weekend pass?"

Ron nodded. "Second platoon does. First and third in D Company both lost theirs this week."

Together they started strolling across the camp. A few dozen men spilled from the Mess Hall as they passed it. None of them spared either lieutenant a second glance other than to salute in passing. She didn't mind. The knowledge that it didn't bother her came as a surprise to herself, and she smiled.

"You seem to be in a better mood than usual," Ron commented.

"For the first time in almost three months, I get to leave camp." Turning to him, she smiled. The warm sunlight felt good on her skin and dried her hair. "And I'm going to make the most of it."

"Who are you going with?"

"I figured I'd stick with Luz. Guarnere, Toye, Muck, Penkala, and Malarkey talked about going out as well." She shrugged.

He nodded, breathing in the cigarette smoke. Ron stayed quiet for a bit. Then he broached another question. "So, what are you planning to do? Given you'll probably never have off again."

"Your optimism is truly inspiring." But then she smiled. "I want to dance. Bernadette used to dance, and I feel like if I can do it, I'll be honoring her in some way."

"Watch yourself. Some of the men around here would give anything to spend time with you, and when they're drunk…"

Alice agreed. "I know. I know. That's why I plan to stick with Luz and some of the other men from Second Platoon. And I can defend myself."

"Maybe. But you're not as strong as a lot of them, physically."

"Again, wonderful optimism, Ron."

He turned to her as they walked. "You don't talk to me for my optimism."

Humming in agreement, she pulled out her own cigarette and lit it. The smoke cleared her thoughts even further. Suddenly they saw Nixon and Dick coming towards them. Alice smiled.

"You two seem to be having a nice conversation," Nixon teased.

"Ron's better company than you, that's for sure," she said. The she smirked at Ron. "Even with his beautiful optimism."

"Happy to have a weekend pass?" Dick asked her. He smiled as she grinned back.

"Beyond happy."

"Oh, no, boys. I don't know how I feel about this version of Alice Klein. She's like a ray of sunshine." Nixon smirked at her.

"You're just jealous that you won't get a dance with me tonight." Alice smirked right back at him. "I may be a Lieutenant in rank, but for all intents and purposes I'm just an enlisted. So, they get the dances."

"But you hang out with us," Nixon pointed out.

Alice grinned as she walked backwards. They had reached her barracks. With a quick wink at the lieutenants, she smiled again. "Slim pickings."

The door shut behind her as she scurried in. The room was empty. After dropping her clothes, towel, and shower kit in her footlocker, Alice sat on her bed. As she did so, she found a letter peeking out from behind her pillow. The handwriting on the front looked different from George's but seemed equally as quick.

_"Alice Klein,_

_"You know, your last name isn't that bad. Not your fault it sounds so German. Joe Liebgott here. When Doc told us to write these, I wasn't sure what to put. So I kinda put it off, but then George wrote his and you actually responded to it so I said why the fuck not._

_"I don't think I've told you this. I haven't really told anyone. But I'm a Jew, too. Don't go shouting it around. I'm sick of being the end of fucking jokes and sneers honestly. But I guess you know what that's like._

_"Sorry about your sister, and the rest of your family. It's fucking messed up that they got arrested for being Jewish. I hate that people act like we're the enemy and all. It even happens here in America, but I don't know if you've seen it. I have._

_"I don't know how much you've talked to Webster. But he speaks German too, learned it at Harvard I think. Crazy rich punks. I don't really like speaking German, it reminds me too much of home. But he might. Give it a shot._

_"What was your favorite place in Paris? You talk about it like it's the fucking Garden of Eden or something. I want to know what I'm missing. Especially since you said you're gonna take us someday._

_"I don't know what else to put so, I'll just end this. I'm glad we've got weekend passes. I'll probably see you on Saturday night._

_"Lieb."_

Alice couldn't stop grinning at his letter. He was Jewish too. That fact, no matter how quiet she had to keep it, meant the world. It also made more sense of his hostility towards Germany. As she tucked the letter into the pocket of her spare uniform jacket, Alice hummed a melody her mom had composed.

The boys were outside when she finally made her way out. Someone had found a baseball, definitely contraband, and they were throwing it around. Alice settled herself down on the step into the barracks and watched them. Their laughter made her feel warm inside. She came to the realization that these people meant more to her than the Maquis, now, and while it scared her she decided there was nothing to do but accept it.

A handful of men she rarely talked to joined Second Platoon. She thought maybe they were in third. She recognized one as Floyd Talbert, and another as David Webster. Carwood Lipton even walked over and stood with Bull Randleman and Johnny Martin, chatting away. As usual, Penkala, Muck, and Malarkey stood together, joined at the hip. Malarkey cracked up bad over something. She always loved seeing them laugh.

When lunch and dinner passed, the men split and got ready to hit the town. They changed into their dress uniforms. George kept them entertained inside the barracks, doing movie star impressions. His John Wayne exceeded expectations. Alice found herself laughing along even as she sat on her cot. But before long, she got up and slipped behind the blanket to change. She chose her second dress, a royal blue one that hugged her bust area but allowed for twirling in the bottom half. Two large, circular buttons of the same color as the dress split her upper chest, and the bell sleeves went a few inches down. With a little makeup, she nodded to herself.

"C'mon Alice!" George shouted from the main area. "We're waiting to be surprised. Women take so long."

Alice laughed and stepped out, giving a little spin. The guys watched her. She laughed at their reaction. "I swear it's like you all forget I'm a woman sometimes until I put a dress on. Pick your jaws up off the floor."

"Trust me there's no way to forget you're a woman, sweetheart," Bill objected.

"Well. Good. I want to dance tonight and I'm going to need partners."

Alice led the way out the door. Her heels clicked against the wood floor. When she stepped out into the evening air, she took a deep breath. She could almost taste freedom.

The walk to the nearby strip of towns didn't take long. She walked next to George, taking in the sights. Though it didn't compare to the splendor of Paris or London, or the quaint beauty of the English countryside, rural Georgia had its own beauty. By the time they reached the bar they'd aimed for, both Joes, Bill, George, and the terrible trio of Skip Muck, Alex Penkala, and Don Malarkey were together.

As soon as the door the bar opened, Liebgott holding it for her, she grinned again. Music played in the background, swing, and the smell of alcohol filled the air. A handful of locals and some army men stood around or sat at wooden tables. A few dart boards lined a far wall, and a dance space took up the majority of the large bar.

Before long she had a beer in her hands. Taking up a seat at a group of empty tables, she sipped at it. The others joined her. Joe Toye and Bill Guarnere sat watching the rest of the bar, specifically a handful of young women locals. Alice watched them in amusement. While the American bar didn't quite compare to a place on Les Champs-Élysées, she liked it more than the Cabaret of the Montmartre district.

With her beer half gone, George tapped her on the shoulder. He grinned. "First dance?"

Alice grinned right back. She turned to Muck in her right. "Watch my drink. Or you buy me a new one." Then she stood and walked with George over to the dance floor. But she found herself halting.

"You ok?"

Alice took a deep breath. "Yes. I… I need to dance for her. But it's not easy."

"For Bernadette?"

"Oui. Yes. She always wanted me to dance." But she took another deep breath, and nodded. "All right." Then she smiled and looked at George. "You better lead well. I may not remember all the steps, it's been a while."

"I swear when Maria gets old enough to dance with boys I'm going to have a heart attack. Victoria's already there and she won't listen to me."

As the current song ended, Geroge winked at her. They moved to the dance floor with several other couples. When Glenn Miller started up on the radio, they danced. Alice felt pleasantly surprised that George Luz knew what he was doing. Swing had always been her favorite type of dance, while Bernadette had loved ballet.

By the end, Alice was laughing and they broke apart. "You're not bad. Not quite as good as Marc-"

"That's not fair!"

"C'est vrai. It's true." As they moved off to the side, she chuckled. "But Bernadette made sure he could dance perfectly. He was her favorite partner."

Before long, Bill Guarnere insisted on a turn, and she obliged. By the end of the night, she had danced with all of them and finished two beers. Liebgott declined at first, insisting he wasn't much for dancing. But after she offered up a small insult in German, he growled and agreed. To her pleasant surprise, he danced extremely well. By the end she was panting trying to keep up with him.

Around midnight, Alice felt herself crashing. Half the boys stood playing darts along the wall. Luz was losing terribly, though Joe Toye seemed to be competing for worst as well. Skip Muck came out ahead.

George, having lost nearly fifty dollars, joined her walking back. Breathing in the night air, Alice smiled and closed her eyes for a moment. "That was fun."

George lit her cigarette and then his own. As they walked past another bar, Floyd Talbert and Carwood Lipton left as well.

"Hey, Tab, Lip, you won't believe what I did tonight." George winked back at her. As the two men in question took up a spot to his left, he gestured to Alice. "I got a dance."

She chuckled. "So did everyone else who went with us."

"How's your injury doing?" Lipton asked her.

With a shrug, she felt the side she'd been slashed on. "It's been fine. Gene thinks by the end of this week I'll be able to get back into full training."

"Doc knows best," said George.

"Hm. I think he's been trying to keep me out of Sobel's way, honestly," Alice said with a laugh. "I haven't seen that man in almost a week."

"You're lucking out there," Talbert told her. "Yesterday's night march went the worst yet. I swear Sobel is trying to get us killed."

"His job's to make Easy the best company in the 506th. We're certainly the most fit," Lipton reminded them. "Not saying I like the man, but."

They continued chatting on the way back. When they reached the set of Easy Company barracks, she bid Lipton and Talbert a goodnight. It didn't take long for her to slip into pajamas after that. But her smile never faded.

"Bernadette, ce soir était pour toi," she murmured.

Then for the first time in years, she prayed. She thought maybe, at last, she could move forward. With the men around her, she finally felt comfortable enough to talk to them. Definitely not about everything yet, but enough that she hoped they could trust each other. And that meant more to her than she ever expected.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**December 1942**

_Fort Benning, Georgia, USA_

* * *

Alice liked Fort Benning more than Camp Toccoa, if only because it meant no Currahee. She'd held her own tiny Hanukkah celebration in the last few days of living at Toccoa, and now that they'd moved across the state, she appreciated the lack of that awful mountain more every day. The platoons still roomed together, so when she woke up that Friday morning it was to George on her right and the wall on her left.

"Alice, you've got to get up," Skip Muck said. He finished pulling on his jacket. When she just groaned into her pillow, he grabbed his own and threw it at her.

"Hey!" She rolled over on her side and grabbed Skip's pillow. Sitting herself up, she sent it flying at him. All she got for her trouble was laughter.

"Come on. Breakfast time."

Alice groaned again. They'd stayed up late the previous night, drinking, and she felt it. Without saying a word, she grabbed an outfit, stepped behind a screen, and changed. As much as they hated that Sobel was still around, training here went much better. Sobel didn't teach them, paratrooper instructors did. Every lesson felt exciting. They were doing Jump Training.

Hurrying after the men, she caught up to Guarnere and Malarkey trailing behind. It couldn't have been over forty degrees Fahrenheit and she could see her breath. Before too long, they'd entered the large Mess Hall. Alice grabbed her food and found her spot with the other officers.

"You look like shit."

"Shut up, Nix." Then she turned to Ron. "Don't say anything."

But Nixon didn't back down. "How much did you drink last night?"

Ron hid his smirk with a drink of his water. "Clearly enough to regret it."

The glare she shot him would've made anyone else cower in fear, but Ron Speirs just returned it calmly. The men sat opposite her, Nixon to the left and Ron to the right. As she went to snap at them, Dick sat down to her left. For his sake, she kept her mouth closed.

"You're holding your head like it's going to roll off," Nixon commented a few minutes later. He gestured to her with his fork.

Alice caught herself grasping at her face. She had stopped eating and just closed her eyes. Her throat felt dry. All she could think of was how much she wanted to die right about then. But at Nixon's comment, she straightened up.

Dick looked her over. "What did you do last night?"

"Guarnere and Toye challenged me to a drinking game," she mumbled. Her hand didn't leave her face. "Clearly I lost."

"But not for lack of trying, evidently," said Ron.

Alice removed the hand from her face slowly and sent him another death glare. This time Ron actually sent her a tiny smirk back. She pointed at him and went to respond, but Dick interrupted her.

"Don't take the bait, Alice."

She muttered under her breath in German, picking at her oatmeal. Forcing down her food, she tried to block out the raging noise of the crowds around her. To their credit, Nixon and Dick kept their voices at a decent level, and Ron mostly stayed quiet. She knew it irritated him that his platoon and the rest of D Company had been forced with the rest of the 506th to undergo more physical training before jumps could start, whereas Easy had been allowed to move straight into the second phase, basic jump school.

"What's today?" Nixon asked.

"Friday."

He scoffed at Dick. "No, the date. Not day of the week."

"December 23rd."

He let out a little hum, turning to his food again. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could tell he was smirking. She'd never told the officers her birthday. But somehow she had a suspicion that Lewis Nixon had gotten the information.

"So, any of you traveling during your week off?" Ron asked. He shoveled a bite of pancake into his mouth.

Nixon shook his head. "California's too far. It wouldn't be worth the travel time."

"Winters?"

Dick shrugged. "I'm probably staying around here. You?"

Ron also shrugged. He put his fork down. "My older sisters wanted me to come home. But I don't know if the train to Boston is worth it."

"You have siblings?" Alice uncovered her face for a moment to look at him. "It's been six months and I'm only now hearing about siblings."

He looked at her in mild amusement. With a shrug, he used his fork to point at her. "You never asked."

"I just assumed it would come up at some point after six months." At her snap, she hissed and grabbed her head again. "For fucks sake."

"Dick doesn't like those kinds of words," Nixon warned her. But then he smiled. "I have a sister too."

Alice let her hand fall to the table. She glared at him. "You what."

"I mean, you never asked."

"Unbelievable. Dick?"

He shrugged and shook his head. With a nod, she turned back to the other two. Ron finished up his food, and she decided she'd had enough. Alice took her tray with her. Once she'd cleaned up, she wandered back into the chilling winter air of Georgia.

The majority of the morning was spent in physical training. They did a three mile run. Following the run, they stretched and did weight lifting. Only after lunch did they continue with formal jump training. This was to be their last day of fall training.

Alice tried to clear her head. She drank as much water as she could, and stood alone waiting for the rest of Easy Company to finish lunch. Drinking on the Thursday night before the last ground training day had been stupid. She hated herself for it.

"You look better than you did this morning."

Alice looked over to where Lipton strode next to Talbert and Grant. She rubbed her forehead. "It was that obvious?"

Floyd Talbert smiled. "Only because Guarnere wouldn't stop boasting about beating you in drinks."

"What were you thinking," Lipton asked with a quick laugh.

"I clearly wasn't. The Lieutenants got a good laugh out of it at my expense this morning so I guess it did some good." She folded her arms. "You three ready?"

"Aye aye, Lieutenant." Talbert gave her a half-joking salute.

Alice rolled her eyes. Listening to the three sergeants chat, she stayed out of the conversation to preserve her still aching head. Soon the whole company had assembled. The instructors, the Sergeants Airborne, lined up in front of them.

"If you can't pass this, you wash out. Are you ready, soldiers?"

They all shouted back affirmatively. Alice followed the rest of Second Platoon to the ten foot platforms. Her body tingled in excitement. Since day one she'd had fine form, which of course pissed Sobel off royally. Secretly she hoped he'd wash out that day. The prospect of being a paratrooper kept her from thinking too hard about their hated C.O. Instead, Alice just controlled her breathing.

With each moment, she stepped closer to her own fall. At last she reached the platform. Liebgott stood in front of her, Malarkey behind. Her heart raced as Liebgott disappeared. She stepped to the edge.

The sand pit she needed to aim for lay ten feet down. She spotted Dick and George in the few seconds she had as Liebgott gathered himself. He moved away. The whistle blew. Alice stepped.

One thousand.

Two thousand.

Three thousand.

Four thousand.

The impact traveled up her side to her chest. Before she could think too much, she rolled out of the way. One down, four more to go. She tried, and failed, to suppress a grin as she moved to stand behind Liebgott again.

He glanced back at her. "Pretty good form, Klein."

"Not too bad yourself."

They quieted down. Every few moments, the line moved. Her heart continued to beat faster and faster. She needed to pass these falls. Soon Alice put her hands on the metal rungs of the ladder up. She stepped up. Then she stepped again.

Her feet hit the platform. Liebgott shuffled forward. She could hear Malarkey's quick breathing behind her. Liebgott stepped. Then he disappeared.

Alice moved forward. A gust of wind hit her face. At the ground, Liebgott moved away. She breathed in. She stepped off.

One thousand.

Two thousand.

Three thousand.

Four thousand.

Her body slammed the sand. She rolled sideways, letting the impact travel through her body. With a grin and a deep breath, she rolled away again. The sand fell from her as she rejoined the line. Two down, three to go.

After two more successful falls, Alice found herself staring at Liebgott's back again, metal platform beneath her feet. One more to go. She found herself focusing on him. His nearly black hair had become sandy. His shoulders were tensed. As he stood at the edge of the platform, she found herself willing him to succeed.

He disappeared. Her feet hung slightly off the edge as she stepped up. The whistle blew. She felt herself tipping off the edge. The wind swirled around her.

One thousand.

Two thousand.

Three thousand.

Four thousand.

She rolled with the impact pain. Sand filled her hair and sprayed into her face, but she didn't care. Alice's grin spread all the way to her eyes. The boys cheered as she moved to the group who had finished. Week One was over.

Alice grabbed George in a hug as he bounded over. She brushed the sand out of his hair. His embrace was warm and comforting in the otherwise wintery field.

"One step closer to paratroopers," he said with a grin. Then he smirked. "Don't look now, but Sobel's pissed."

She turned to find their CO. Captain Sobel stood glaring at the celebrating soldiers of the three platoons. Laughing, Alice moved to First Platoon. She found Gene Roe standing with a small smile a few feet from most of the men.

"Nous l'avons fait, Gene!" Alice gave him a quick cheek kiss. She laughed at him as he shuffled his feet.

"Yeah, we did." He smiled at her. Pointing to her hair, he folded his arms. "You might wanna get the sand out."

She grimaced. Running a hand through her hair, she felt the scratchy sand bits that had accumulated. Alice bit her cheek and tried to shake it out. Soon enough, they were called into formation. The Sergeants seemed impressed that every member of Easy Company had passed.

"Easy Company, listen up. Good work today! This is officially the end of Ground Week. When you get back from Christmas leave, you'll be heading to Tower Week. You are expected to be ready for training on Monday the fourth, bright and early. If you're late, you're out of the Airborne. Got it?"

"Clear, Sergeant Airborne!"

"Good! Dismissed."

Sobel dismissed them, and called Dick and Nixon after him. The platoons slowly split, several groups talking about where and who they would be going to see on their week and a half of leave. For the first time in six months, they'd get to see home. Or at least, some would.

Alice suddenly felt a pit form in her stomach. Home. The concept of home brought up a whole load of memories, emotions, and thoughts. Home meant more than one thing to her now. It meant the Elbe River in Germany, it meant Paris, but it meant emptiness, a deep ache that a part of her was missing. And that part was something she could never reclaim, not even by storming the Bastille and taking down the Nazi Invaders in France. The place remained, the people in the home did not.

For all intents and purposes, home for her now meant Easy Company. She'd let the men into her heart. She knew some, like George, Gene, Nix, Ron, and Dick, and even others like Lieb, Malarkey, Muck, Penkala, Toye, and Guarnere, held her in high esteem. Of the enlisted, she definitely held George Luz and Eugene Roe as her best friends. Gene hadn't been able to afford the trip home and back. George hadn't decided. But she supposed she would spend most of her free time with the officers.

"You're thinkin' too hard again, sweetheart." Bill's Philadelphia accent came close to her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You do it too much."

"What?"

"Think. You think too much."

Alice looked at him with a smirk. "You don't do it enough, Wild Bill."

He laughed and gave her a quick wink. "I just think about important things. Like whatcha doing tomorrow."

"I thought you and Toye were heading to Pennsylvania?"

"Answer my question."

Alice shook her head. "Staying here. What else would I do? I'll probably spend time with the officers." She laughed at his disgust. "Staying at Fort Benning isn't too bad."

"If we weren't sworn to keep you our little secret, I'd tell you to join Joe and me."

Alice huffed. That, of course, was the other problem. George had broached the idea of having her go with him to Rhode Island to meet his little sister Maria, who he always talked about, but they couldn't explain Alice's role in the US Military. "But, I am supposed to be a secret, so there's not much to be done. After all, my home isn't something I can exactly go back to."

"That's a depressing note."

She hummed again. "You're telling me?"

"Yeah, well. If you're gonna insist on doing all sorts of thinkin', don't think about that."

He split from her with a wink. Pulling a cigarette out of her trouser pockets and giving it a quick light, Alice walked with her hands under her arms. The warmth of the smoke filling her body did wonders for the cold and her stress. Dinner would be served soon. She intended to make the most of her few minutes by smoking and clearing her head.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

December 24th. Her birthday. Alice sat in her cot, rubbing her forehead as she thought about that fact. December 24th, 1942 would be her first birthday without family.

She sat in the dark. No one had woken up yet. Quietly leaving her cot, she grabbed clothes from her footlocker next to her bed and slipped behind the curtain that had been set up for her in Fort Benning. She changed quickly.

Alice slipped out of the barracks unnoticed. Her feet hit the bare ground, the frosty grass crunching beneath her boots. She pulled on her beret. While she walked across the camp, the sun began to rise. Gentle blues, white-golds, and pinks painted the early morning sky. She could smell the winter air, the crispness of it all around her. The ambiance of morning birds added to the peacefulness.

Her pack of cigarettes crinkled as she pulled one out. She lit it, her lighter flicking open and spouting a small orange flame. She closed her eyes. She breathed. The smoke filled her mouth, throat, and lungs, warming her in the chill morning. Her body relaxed. Alice released all the tension she could, focusing only on the warm smoke filling her lungs.

The sound of boots on frosted grass interrupted the silence a few minutes later. As a visible combination of cigarette smoke and her breath wrapped around her, she turned to see who approached. Ron Speirs, ever the early riser, walked over.

“You’re not often up this early,” he said, voice low.

Alice hummed in agreement. Sitting down at a picnic table, she crossed her legs and kept smoking. Ron joined her. He pulled out his own cigarette and light. They sat in silence for a minute.

“Did you decide if you’re going back home?”

Ron paused. He pulled his cigarette out and looked around. “I think I’ll stay.” Turning back to her, he continued. “Most of D company is leaving. What about Easy?”

With a hum, she shrugged. “About half are going home, including almost all of Second Platoon.”

They fell into comfortable silence again. Smoke swirled around them. The sun had fully breached the horizon, and the birds sang louder. Finally, Ron broke the silence again.

“I know you never told me it was today, but happy birthday, for what it’s worth.” He glanced left as a few men exited Able Company’s first platoon barracks. “Nixon let it slip.”

“I never told him, either,” Alice replied, no hint of bitterness in her voice. “Thank you. This year is… an adjustment.”

It was Ron’s turn to stay silent. As his gaze drifted around the open grounds of Fort Benning, he nodded. He reached into his coat pocket and took something out. “I’ve still got family in Scotland. I wrote them about a month ago. Took some effort on their part, but they managed to get ahold of this.” He put the object on the table in front of her.

Alice audibly gasped. Without even thinking, her hand flew to her mouth. Ron had put down a single bar of Swiss chocolate. The large cursive scrawl of ‘Lindt’ had been written in bright white over a blue wrapper. What could be seen of the silver tinfoil it covered shined in the sunlight.

“I always liked Lindt,” he told her. “My father picked it up when we could in Edinburgh.”

She hadn’t meant to cry, but the small reminder of Germany triggered emotions she hadn’t expected. Sugar had been rationed for quite some time in Europe, so chocolate for anyone but the elite had been hard to come by. As she teared up beneath her hands, the chilly air stung her eyes. She wiped the tears away.

“I can't… thank you.” Alice picked up the bar of chocolate. Her fingers trailed over the name 'Lindt’. “I don't…”

Ron gave a small laugh. “Figured you’d be missing home a bit more than usual.”

She didn’t know how to respond. A small half cough-half laugh escaped her at his statement. She met his gaze and nodded. “Like I said, it’s an adjustment.”

By now, dozens of men had spilled from the barracks. Most had bags over their shoulders and train tickets in their hands. Several trucks had been arranged to take them into Columbus to catch a train to wherever home was for each.

Their cigarettes had died. Both sat watching various groups of soldiers meander about. Suddenly Alice cracked a smile. She watched a handful of Easy’s second platoon walking to breakfast. George was saying something, and based on the laughter around him, it was probably an impersonation.

“One of these days, George Luz is going to regret his incredible ability to do impressions,” she commented. Her smile didn’t fade. But then she looked quickly at Ron. “Pretend I didn’t say anything. He doesn’t impersonate anyone,” she corrected.

Ron just scoffed. As they sat there for a moment more, Alice looked down at the Lindt bar. She smiled. Her cold hands quickly undid the wrap and the foil until she had the chocolate open to the world. Alice snapped off a piece.

“Here.” She held it out to Ron. He took it gratefully, and she snapped off another piece for herself. The smooth, dark chocolate starkly contrasted against her pale fingers. “To Europe.”

He raised his piece of chocolate ever so slightly. They ate it at the same time. Alice closed her eyes in contentment as the bittersweet bar melted in her mouth. A wave of nostalgia crashed over her. Suddenly the world felt just a little bit smaller, and home just a little bit closer.

“I better go hide the rest of this,” she muttered. “I’m sure my platoon would love to eat this.”

“If they do, I’ll shoot 'em.”

Alice laughed. “Please don’t.”

They both stood from the picnic table. With a nod, Ron said he’d see her at breakfast. They split. The walk back to her barracks didn’t take more than five minutes, and soon she stood inside, significantly warmer. Alice locked the chocolate bar inside her footlocker. Everyone else had left the barracks to her relief.

When she turned to leave, her gaze fell on a small box at the base of her cot. Her brow furrowed. She hadn’t seen it earlier. Alice picked it up. Untying the string didn’t take much effort. Soon she moved the cardboard flaps and looked inside. Well over a dozen letters lay inside. Her mouth dried and she felt a lump form in her throat. On the top of the pile of letters, sat a loose note.

“Happy birthday! Bon anniversaire! Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Gefeliciteerd! 2000 hours tonight, the bar. Better be there.”

It seemed like every single member of Easy Company had signed it. Her mouth dropped at their use of Dutch. Someone must’ve done significant research for that one, and the gesture touched her deeply. She took the loose paper out, folded it, and tucked it into her pocket. Leaving the box, she headed to breakfast.

She remembered her gloves when she left the barracks for the second time. Winter in Georgia didn’t feel as cold as a Parisian winter, but the cold still dried her skin out. Alice hurried to the dining hall. She saw all three of her usual officer breakfast buddies taking up seats, but instead she stopped by the Easy Company tables first.

“So. Eight tonight, huh?” She crossed her arms over her chest. Toye and Guarnere sat closest to her. “Another drinking contest planned?”

“Wouldn’t want to beat you twice,” Toye said with a smirk.

“What happened to Philadelphia?”

Bill grinned. “Train leaves tomorrow. Can’t get rid of us on your birthday that easy, sweetheart.”

Alice rolled her eyes with a smile. She left them to their breakfasts and got her own food. The KP officers dumped oatmeal, two pancakes, and some scrambled eggs on a tray. She picked up coffee.

The place next to Ron was still open. She slipped in, sitting across from Dick. Nixon sat to his right. He looked at her in amusement.

“You look happy,” he said between bites.

She hummed in agreement. After shoveling some of the eggs down, she dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “It’s been a surprisingly good day.”

“Day? It’s only eight o'clock.”

Ron scoffed. “Some people can get up with the sun, Nixon.”

“I don’t believe it. It’s all rumors.”

Dick snorted in amusement. Turning to Alice, he nodded to her. “Happy birthday. Nixon let it slip.”

“Oh right, that’s today.” He smirked her way.

Alice let out a small laugh. They chatted through breakfast about nothing in particular. Dick told them that Sobel had elected to leave Fort Benning for Christmas. Alice decided that if Christmas did anything beneficial, that was it right there. While they downed their food and chatted, she kept her mind focused away from the absence of her family.

With the absence of Sobel, she began to wonder if she could somehow get away with getting out of Fort Benning. George had left the offer open for going to Rhode Island. Skip Muck would be taking the same train up to Tonawanda. If she could figure out a good story to tell people for how she knew George, it might work. She really wanted to meet Maria.

“How long is the train to New York City,” Nixon asked a minute later.

“About fourteen hours,” said Alice. “Why?”

“Well, none of us are able to get home, right?” He finished chewing a pancake bite. “Why don’t we take a few days there.”

Dick stopped eating, and Ron followed. They exchanged glances. Nixon laughed at them.

“Come on. It’d be fun. That new movie just came out up there… Casablanca?”

Alice shrugged. “I don’t think I have the money.” To her surprise, Dick and Ron both agreed.

“I’ll help. I need to get out of this stupid place,” he muttered. “Leave the finances to me.”

“Darn you arrogant rich jerks from Yale,” said Dick. He and Nixon exchanged a laugh. Then he nodded. “I’ll go.”

“Ron?”

He took a deep breath. Then he shrugged. “If it’s coming out of your pocket. I’ll let my sisters know, they’ll shoot me if I get that close to Boston and don’t.”

“I’ve got a family home in New Jersey, we can stay there.” Then he turned to her. “Alice?”

“How exactly will we explain my existence to family if they’re there?” she asked.

Ron shrugged. “WAAC?”

“Yeah. That’ll work.” Nixon pointed at her. “You need to see more of America than a train car and Georgia.”

She chewed her pancakes carefully. Of course she wanted to go. The idea of finally getting out of military camps meant everything. But equally as entertaining was watching Lewis Nixon wait for her answer. Finally she put down her fork. “Sure. Why not.”


	20. Chapter Twenty

Alice couldn't help but laugh when Guarnere stood alone in his dress uniform, waiting for her after she changed into her red dress. Of all the men in Easy, Bill Guarnere was the boldest flirt of them all, and she found it downright hilarious. He stood smoking at the door.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Alice. She smirked, pulling her coat over her dress. 

"I've got three sisters, I'm used to it." 

Alice chuckled. She pulled out a cigarette. "How'd you get to be the lucky one to walk with me?" 

As they walked out the door, Bill gave her a light. She thanked him. The cold air hit her in the face and she grimaced. The moon had come out already. Wind whipped around them.

"Lucky? I pulled the short straw." He folded his arms across his chest, hiding his gloved hands. "I could be drinkin' beer by the gallon in a warm bar right now if it wasn't for you, sweetheart."

"Hm, that so?" 

"Yeah."

"Right because I thought you were hoping to beat George to the first dance." She couldn't stop herself from smiling, still walking straight ahead across Fort Benning. The usual spot for weekend drinking sessions was on the far end of the base. 

"Maybe I just felt bad about leaving you alone for over a week when Joe and me go to Philly." He took a breath of his cigarette. The smoke he exhaled mingled with his breath. "You know, since you're stuck here."

Alice looked at him with a smirk. "Oh, I'm not staying here."

"What?"

"Winters, Nixon, Speirs and I are going to New York City."

"You fucking kidding me? You're going without me?" 

With a laugh, she pushed him with her shoulder. "Don't be sad. I promise if we ever get to Paris, you boys get the first tour."

"I'm holding you to that. Gotta show us all the places the French broads frequent."

They reached the door to the club on base. Alice had never been. They'd only spent about two weeks on base, but she'd heard good things from a few of the men. The door was made of nice dark wood. Bill Guarnere opened it for her with a wink. 

The club looked huge. There were dozens of tables and a large bar. Three dart boards lined one of the walls. George Luz and Joe Toye appeared to be playing each other. Across from them, Skip Muck and Don Malarkey laughed with each other behind beers. Alex Penkala had left the previous night to be home for Christmas. Still, they didn't seem to miss a beat without their third friend. Joe Liebgott stood with the men playing darts, heckling them. She noticed Lipton, Grant, and Talbert at a table, chatting, leaning back and enjoying themselves. Gene Roe sat alone, smoking. He was writing a letter. But all she had eyes for was the corner to her right.

"A piano!" 

She all but squealed when she caught sight of the black and white keys, the brown wooden body glistening in the low light of the club. Involuntary tears filled her eyes. As she moved over to it, forgetting Bill Guarnere at her side, her heart raced. It's been nearly a year since she'd been able to sit and play. For a few moments, she totally forgot about the men around her. They turned. But now, all Alice had eyes for was the piano in the corner. 

She hesitated, hands mere centimeters from the keys. They shined in the light, recently polished perhaps. Alice smiled. She closed her eyes. Her fingertips rested on the keys gently, not playing them. 

"Hey! Alice!"

The spell broke as Skip called over to her. With a tiny sigh, she turned around. He had a glass of wine in hand. She took it gratefully.

"We throw you a party and all you do is go to a piano," said George. Throwing his last dart, he groaned at the loss and walked over. "I see how it is."

"She's glad to get rid of us," added Malarkey. 

Skip Muck just snorted, "Can't say I blame her, Don."

Alice laughed and joined them at a set of tables. The Cabernet Sauvignon tasted wonderful as she down some of her drink. Other men besides Easy Company were in the bar as well, so the noise continued to steadily increase. She smiled.

"When we get back, it's one step closer to being paratroopers." When she said this, they all visibly brightened. She felt her body trembling at the thought. One step closer to France, to home. 

Gene, joining them, interrupted. "We?" 

"Aren't you staying here?" asked Liebgott.

Alice couldn't stop herself from smirking. She shook her head. "The Lieutenants and I are going to New York City for a few days." When they protested, she laughed. "It's easier to explain why I'm with Lieutenants than enlisted."

"Jesus, Alice, you're breakin' my heart." 

"Sorry, George."

Liebgott huffed a small laugh. The group talked for awhile, each of the men speaking about what they hoped to do while they had about a week at home. Skip Muck's pure excitement over seeing Faye had them all laughing. As the night wore on, they even did a bit of dancing. 

Around midnight, most of the men who weren't with Easy had left. The men running the bar wanted to close up. Alice tingled from the wine she'd been drinking. Her body felt warm, and she looked around at the men, thankful for their presence.

The bartenders pushed them out into the base. The only members of Easy's Second Platoon to be staying overnight were Guarnere, Toye, Liebgott, Luz, Malarkey, and Muck. The others had mostly ducked out earlier to catch the last trains out of Fort Benning. Alice shuddered from the wind and cold as they moved back to the barracks.

"Thank you. For tonight." Alice turned to them as they walked inside. The barracks were only moderately warmer, but at least the wind stayed out. 

Bill grinned. "Poker?"

"Oh, no. You all beat me enough at that."

Suddenly George couldn't stop smirking. He took out a cigarette and lit it. Malarkey noticed and asked him what was wrong.

"We could play Truth or Dare, pass the time."

The room went absolutely silent. Bill and Lieb both started grinning alongside George. Toye looked around them. He didn't seem to know what to say. Both Don Malarkey and Skip Muck looked intrigued. Alice, however, didn't make a sound.

Lieb raised an eyebrow. "You scared, Klein?" 

Alice immediately folded her arms. But Joe Toye immediately jumped to her defense. "You don't have to say yes."

"Aw c'mon," said George. "Someday we'll be going into combat. I think it's only fair we all know each other better."

She still didn't say anything. The alcohol in her system was pushing her towards saying yes. The men gathered were the closest to her in Easy Company. She trusted them not to ask her to do anything inappropriate. But she didn't trust them not to ask detailed, deep questions.

"Okay. Because you all threw me such a nice party, I'll do it." Then she hesitated. "Ground rules. You have to let me choose between a specific truth and a specific dare."

All agreed. They took up the seven cots in the corner, Alice in her own. She had them wait while she changed into her sleeping clothes, eager to get out of the dress that drew a little too much attention to herself. Once they were all set, Toye told her to start.

"The floor is yours."

Alice hummed. She sat propped against the wall, absentmindedly playing with her hair. "Right. George, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"How old were you for your first kiss?"

He grinned and leaned back into his pillow. His cigarette smoke wafted around the room as he waited. "Thirteen. On a playground." He turned to her. "My turn?" When they nodded, he sat up. "Lieb. Truth or Dare."

"Truth."

"Are you a virgin?"

"No."

Alice rolled her eyes. Trust George to go straight to the point. "Things I didn't need to know."

"There's probably gonna be a lot of that," Toye said, snickering.

Liebgott just winked. He looked around at the various players. "Malark. Truth or Dare."

"Truth."

"If you had to choose between kissing Marlene Dietrich or Alice, who would you choose?"

Malarkey laughed, clearly self conscious. He shook his head. "Marlene Dietrich. Less awkward." 

"Good save," Alice teased.

"Ok. Skip. Truth or Dare?"

Muck asked for truth, just like the others. As Don thought up a question, he squirmed. It amused them all greatly.

"Are you going to marry Faye?"

Muck looked at him as if he were crazy. "Absolutely." Then he turned to Toye. "Toye, which one."

"Truth. I'd hate to break the streak."

"Did you think Alice would make it in the Paratroopers when you met her?"

They all went quiet. He looked annoyed about the question. But Alice shrugged. He had to answer it.

"I don't think any of us did," he said. 

Alice agreed. "I don't hold it against you."

Toye gave her a quick nod. Then he looked back at her, smirking. "Truth or Dare. Either you have to answer if you thought you'd make it on day one, dare would be to go find Lieutenant Nixon and kiss him."

"Not much of a choice," she said with a laugh. "I'll take the truth. I don't know that I thought I would last, but I knew I had no choice. If I didn't make it, I'd be letting my people down, and my family, and I'd be heading back into Nazi territory. None of that was appealing."

They room quieted for a moment. Everyone agreed that wouldn't have been good. Alice grabbed a cigarette and used George's lighter. 

"Ok. Wild Bill over there." She smiled when he leaned forward. "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"You boys don't like the dares," Alice teased. Then she nodded. "All right. Who's your favorite sibling?"

"Henry."

He got some heckling over the speed at which he knew that answer. As the youngest of ten, he had plenty to choose from. After getting them all to shut up, he turned to the game. "Alice. Truth or Dare?"

"My options?"

Guarnere grinned. "Ditch the Lieutenants for Philly tomorrow, or tell us your first impressions of each of us."

"What!" Alice sat up straighter. She could feel their stares on her. Trust Guarnere to not give her an easy choice. 

"C'mon, choose, sweetheart."

She could feel them all staring at her. In an effort to calm her nerves, she breathed in the cigarette smoke heavily. "All right fine. I met George first." Alice turned to him. "I thought you were nice enough. Brash, but I found that to be a recurring theme with Americans. Malarkey, the first time I heard you speak, you wanted to know why a woman would be in Easy."

He cringed. "You remember that?"

"Yes. Toye, you were nice, too. I thought you'd probably hold your own fine in combat. Skip, I have a distinct memory of you talking about Faye and that instantly made me like you." They all laughed as she continued. "Bill, I thought you were the poster child for brash, headstrong American. To be fair, I still do. And Lieb." She started grinning at his discomfort. "You were rude, obnoxious, condescending, and seemed to just genuinely want to punch me in the mouth."

"Ok but can you fucking blame me," he protested. "A girl, in Easy, who's German."

Alice smiled and shook her head. "I still think you went overboard. But, I forgive you." She turned back to Bill. "Satisfied?"

"Very."

"Ok. George, Truth or Dare?" She shot him a smug smile. 

He looked at her and hesitated. "Truth."

"What were your first impressions of me?"

"Ever?" When she nodded, he scoffed. "Well, you were sitting alone on the train, basically asleep while trying to read. I heard your accent and wanted to know where you were from. I thought you were different."

"Different?"

"Yeah, I don't know. The girls in Rhode Island aren't floozies, but they aren't secretive. You were secretive. And a girl, traveling by herself? It was odd. So I guess I was intrigued." He paused, smoking a bit more. Then he grinned. "And you're gorgeous, and French, so."

The whole group erupted in laughter. Even Alice couldn't stop herself. She pushed herself a bit higher against the wall, waiting for George to go.

"Alice, truth or dare?"

"Again?" She rolled her eyes. "What are my options."

"You can tell us who you'd pick to go on a date in Easy Company, or you can choose to kiss either me or Lieb, for three seconds." 

She didn't respond. Part of her wanted to be furious at being asked such a question, but having lived in close quarters with so many nineteen to twenty five year old men had dulled her sensibilities somewhat. She bit her cheek. She couldn't pick one of them. They'd never let it go, and if they did, she'd have chosen favorites.

"You're too eager, so there is no way in hell I'm kissing you, Luz." She stood. "For fuck's sake, this is what I meant by Americans being brash."

"Wait you're taking the dare?" Malarkey looked at her in amazement.

Lieb looked totally stunned. Then he started to laugh. "For the record, I didn't set this up."

"For the record," George echoed, "I didn't think you'd take the dare!"

"Don't try anything, Lieb, or I will hit you so hard you won't be able to have kids." She turned right. "Toye, count the kiss. I trust you. And this does not leave the barracks, is that understood? I will have Sink kick you all out of the Airborne."

Bill laughed. "Whatever you say, Lieutenant."

She bit her cheek furiously. As Liebgott just stood there, smirking, she rolled her eyes. "Let's get this over with." Standing a bit on her toes to make up for his ridiculous height, she kissed him. Toye counted to three. She broke it immediately when time ran out.

Liebgott grinned as the others laughed. "War es ein guter Kuss?" 

She had to admit, he was a good kisser. But she would never tell him that. She had some dignity, however small it was after that. "I've had better." 

Beside, though she recognized he was quite attractive, she kept all thoughts of relationships out of her head. This was war. It had been nice to share a kiss after so long without intimate contact with someone, but she didn't want to make it something to think about.

They called the game a few rounds after. Almost all of them would be getting on trains that morning. She thanked them again for their birthday celebration. Thoughts of traveling to New York filled her head as she drifted off to sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to my dear friend and reader, Hufflepuffturtle, who so desperately wanted a moment to ship Lieb and Alice. I have obliged.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the first time in 8 years of writing, the real Christmas coincides with my fictional Christmas. So, Merry Christmas!!

Alice woke gasping. Her chest tightened. All around her, darkness filled the room. Only a few of the beds were occupied, just the ones of her friends who had stayed. As she struggled to catch her breath, Alice slipped into her boots and hurried out the door.

The sun had started to rise. Alice hurried away from the barracks, not sure where her feet were leading her. It didn’t take long for her to realize she’d forgotten her jacket. She stopped. All around her, a quiet stillness filled Fort Benning. Alice clutched her arms around her body as a gust of wind hit her.

As she ducked her face away, a slew of German curses left her. Her bare arms had quickly lost the warmth they’d felt from time indoors. Alice wanted to scream. She’d had another nightmare. The Nazis had infiltrated her old Parisian flat, grabbed her, and dragged her screaming down the hall.

Alice looked at her hands. In the dream, she’d broken her nails trying to hold onto the wood, to stop being dragged away. They’d hit her. One had drawn a gun. She’d woken up, gasping, when the bullet had pierced her shoulder.

Her hand quickly went to the ugly scar over her left chest. She could feel the texture of her skin change as she reached it. Smooth, but tight, it felt like it’d been pulled across something too far. A few indents betrayed the one-time presence of stitches. Alice shuddered. From the cold or the memories, she couldn’t tell.

“What are you doing?”

Alice turned around to see Joe Toye walking over, cigarette dangling from his mouth. He had remembered a coat. She almost scoffed at herself as another wind blast hit her in the face. When he had joined her, she shrugged. Joe seemed to study her.

“You forgot your jacket?” He had to suppress a laugh.

Alice rolled her eyes. “No, Joe. I decided to take it off and enjoy the freezing cold.”

He scoffed. “Want mine?”

“What?”

“I mean, with the way you’re standing out here you’re probably not going back in any time soon.”

Alice looked at him. “Yeah? What’s the way I’m standing?”

“Like you’re thinking.” Joe smirked. “Bill would hound you about it.”

She hummed. Looking across the complex, she didn’t move to accept the jacket. Her thoughts took her far away, to winter in the shadows of the Galibier. She’d had Robert then. He’d kept her warm. Their anger had kept them warm together.

“Take the goddamn coat. Your face is bright red.” Joe held it out to her. “Or, go back inside and get your own.”

Alice accepted it a moment later. She shifted the heavy coat over her shoulders and used it to hide her hands as well. She looked at Joe. “You don’t have to answer this. But I have a question.”

“We playing truth or dare again?”

Alice smiled, huffing out a laugh. “No.”

“Right.” Joe shifted his feet and folded his arms. “What’s the question?”

“Are you afraid?”

He didn’t answer right away. She turned her head so he could think without pressure. Alice closed her eyes. The faces of the resistance fighters she’d lost, and the faces of her family, flooded her mind. She could see them so clearly.

“Yeah, of course I’m scared.” He blew a deep breath out. Arms folded, he shrugged. “I grew up working in the coal mines. They paid me to do the heavy lifting, and when I was younger, I’d squeeze where the bigger guys couldn’t. I saw cave ins. Fucking terrifying they are.”

“I didn’t know that’s what you did.”

“Well let’s keep it between us, yeah? Anyways, they scared me to death. But I still did my job.” He paused again. Then he turned to look at her. Offering her a cigarette, which she accepted, Joe followed up. “Are you afraid?”

Alice didn’t respond at first. She took a few deep breaths of the warm smoke and sighed. It didn’t take long for her to feel her body warm and relax. Finally she turned back to look at him. “Yes. When I close my eyes, they fill my dreams.”

“Who? Your family?”

“The Nazis.” She took the cigarette out and fumbled with it, thinking. She broke eye contact. “I have seen many people I care for die. The number I have left, I can count on my fingers, and most of them are back in the barracks. Which makes matters worse, because you are all here for the express purpose of going into combat.”

Joe didn’t respond at first either. He let a deep breath out. His warm breath mingled with the smoke spectacularly. “Yeah it’s fuckin’ hell, isn’t it. But I guess, we just need to remember we’re fighting for something bigger.”

She agreed. “The most damning thing, is I still want us to go back to France. It seems a free Europe is more important to me than your survival. Which I feel terrible about.”

Joe shuffled again. He turned from her, and glanced over his shoulder at the barracks. His cigarette bobbed as he spoke. “Well. Big picture, I guess we don’t really matter-”

“You do!” Alice snapped. She folded her arms across her chest again. Joe’s coat enveloped her easily. “That’s the thing. For fucks sake.” She rubbed her face. When she pulled her hands away, she sighed. “It’s why I never wanted to befriend you. But then Ron gave me that fucking lecture on me not relating to people and Nix told me I was going into combat and needed to know all of you and…” With a grunt of anger, she rambled on, tears forming. “I knew it. I knew from experience that all that happens is people get hurt. That’s what the Nazis do- they hurt people.”

“Ok, slow down. No one’s gotten hurt-”

“Yet!” Alice rounded on him. “Yet. You know as well as I do, Joe. We aren’t all surviving this war.”

“We’re not going anywhere for awhile.”

Alice let out a long breath. “Yeah. Yeah. Not yet.” She sighed.

Looking over at her, he looked at her in concern. “Wait, you’re on a first name basis with Lieutenant Speirs?”

“What?” She paused, looking at him. Then she laughed. “Ron? So?”

“Alice he’s dangerous.”

She laughed again. “You’re all dangerous… more or less. Even Gene and Shifty. Ron’s not that bad.”

“He shot-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake. The rumor? That he shot the two men who attacked me? So what if he did. They attacked a superior officer, could’ve killed me.”

“Yeah, but to kill them?”

Alice shrugged. “Not necessarily what I would’ve done. But Ron’s the kind of person we’re going to need to win the war. And he’s got a really dry sense of humor that I love. So yes, we’re on a first name basis.”

Grumbling to himself, Joe just shook his head. His long sleeved uniform shirt didn’t stop the wind like his coat. “Are you done thinking yet?”

“Cold?”

“Of course I’m cold. It’s fucking windy today.”

Alice snickered. Together they walked back to the barracks. She shifted the coat off and handed it back to Joe gratefully. When they stepped inside, they found all the men awake and packing.

She changed into her red dress and pulled her tight black trench coat over it. With black Mary Jane heels and her beret, she completed the look she’d use for traveling. The less she was seen in uniform by the public, the better. A trained eye would be able to see the difference between her Army dress uniform and the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps uniform.

After seeing the men off with a thank you, Alice wandered back to her barracks. She’d yet to see the Lieutenants. As she packed her bag, Alice stayed quiet. The room felt eerily empty. The beds had been made, everything cleaned up. Both overhead fans were still. She heard nothing as she sat on the edge of her footlocker.

A knock at her door made her turn. She stopped her slow, controlled breathing. The door opened. Nixon popped his head in. He wore his dress uniform, including hat. “Ready to go?”

“Yes.” Alice stood. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulders.

Before long, she stood out in the cold. Ron and Dick both stood there quietly, the former smoking a cigarette. They looked as put together as Nixon.

“Right. There’s a jeep waiting for us. The name of Alice Klein opens doors where Colonel Sink is concerned,” Nixon half-joked. “Come on.”

They walked in relative silence to the entrance of Fort Benning. Mostly deserted, the walk felt almost eerie. Alice lit herself a cigarette. She could practically feel her cheeks reddening with every gust of wind. Her nose hurt. Thankfully she had gloves, or she knew her hands would be hurting just as bad.

They approached a jeep. A private stood waiting for them. When they approached, he snapped to attention and saluted. The Lieutenants returned it.

“Private Lorraine is the Colonel’s personal driver,” Nixon explained.

“Yes sirs.” He took their bags. Piling them in the very back, he went around front. “The drive won’t take long, sirs.”

Nixon pointed to the shotgun spot. “Ladies first.”

“I’m the smallest. It makes no sense for me to sit up there,” she argued. “I’ll sit in the back. Lieutenant Winters, you’re the tallest. You can have the front.”

Dick went to object, but Alice wouldn’t listen. She climbed into the back gracefully, smoothing her dress down and taking the middle of the row. Nixon chuckled at Dick’s expression. It only took a moment for Ron to heave himself up next to her, and Dick to take the front.

“Come on, Lieutenant Nixon, you’re keeping us here.” Alice sent him a smirk. “Afraid to squish me?”

Nixon scoffed and heaved himself up. He didn’t give her the benefit of a response and instead sat down. She actually appreciated sitting between Ron and Nixon, as it kept her warm. She offered Nixon on her left a cigarette. He accepted. Their warm bodies squished together in the back of the jeep as Lorraine got the engine started.

The private told them it would take about seven minutes to Columbus’ train station, and that’s exactly what it took. Soon they’d pulled up to the station, and Private Lorraine jumped out to get their bags. Alice groaned internally as her warm companions jumped out, leaving her exposed to the chill wind again.

Dick offered to take her bag, and this time she didn’t spurn the chivalry. She adjusted her beret and followed Nixon and Dick up the station, Ron to her right. As Nixon bought the tickets, she shuffled in place.

“The train for New York City leaves in six minutes,” he said. “We can board now.”

They made their way to the aforementioned train. The cars were huge, dark on the outside with several windows per. Suddenly a wave of memories washed over Alice. The last time she’d been taking a train for any real meaningful amount of time it had been from New York to Toccoa. As they walked through the cars, they found it divided by small four person compartments. It took a few minutes to find an empty one. Alice scooted in first and took the window seat facing forward.

She unbuttoned her coat and let it hang more loose at her sides. Ron took the spot next to her, Nixon across on the other window seat. Dick took the corner. She felt herself trembling. Instead of talking with the Lieutenants, she watched out the window. Outside on the platform, a few men walked around checking equipment.

Her stomach lurched along with the train. As it began its northward path, she forced her breathing to slow down. Instead she closed her eyes. Fatigue crashed into her, a combination of the alcohol from the night before and waking at such an early hour from the nightmare. While her head rested against the window, she drifted off.


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

The train pulled into Grand Central Terminal at close to midnight. Retrieving their luggage didn’t take too long, much to Alice’s relief. The lights in the massive terminal had been turned down for the evening. A few hundred people moved to and fro despite it being almost midnight.

Alice stuck close to Nixon. He knew where they were going. They climbed the stairs. Soon, they’d reached the streets of New York City. A gentle flurry of snow fell around them. None of them spoke. Their fatigue was palpable.

Nixon flagged down a taxi. Alice took the middle again, and she didn’t particularly mind being squished between the warm bodies of Ron and Nix. The drive to Nixon, New Jersey only took about forty minutes. Before long, the taxi pulled up outside a massive, mansion style house.

Alice followed Ron out into the driveway. She eyed the building. It had dozens of large windows scattered about the dark façade. There weren’t any cars to be seen, and the building stood dark. She remembered Nixon telling them that they’d have the house to themselves; his whole family spent Christmas and the rest of winter in California.

Snow still fell around them. Her face burned from the chill, and she fumbled for a cigarette. Ron lit it for her. Soon, Nixon had paid the taxi driver and they all stood looking at the Nixon Family home.

“Welcome to Nixon, New Jersey.” He strode forward. Digging around under some dead flower pots, he found a key. “Right this way gentlemen and lady.”

She followed. He unlocked the door quickly. It swung open effortlessly, and as he stepped inside, he flipped on a light to his right. The light in the massive foyer came to life. A chandelier hung down above them, and to its right a staircase of dark mahogany wood led upwards. To their left off the foyer lay a living room with beautiful couches and a pristine record player.

They moved further in, down the foyer. They passed a restroom, a closet, and soon found themselves with a kitchen to the right followed by a dining room, and to their left, another living room. This second living room looked more lived in, and had a radio set up. A piano sat along the wall, large and well kept. Someone had mounted a vintage looking viola above a fireplace mantle.

“Pick a bedroom upstairs.” Nixon gestured towards the staircase at the front. “My sister’s old room can go to Alice. We’ve got plenty of extra bedrooms for you two.”

Together they backtracked to the front of the house and went up. Nixon showed Ron and Dick to guest rooms. They didn’t wait to be told twice, and soon went to bed. Alice found Nixon’s sister’s room without too much trouble, as well.

The bed looked and felt well made, antique but comfy enough. On the walls, photographs of various places hung next to each other. Alice recognized some from Europe. She even found a photo of the Arc de Triomphe. They were beautiful photos. On a wooden dresser, she finally found a picture of the young woman. She had well-styled dark hair and dark eyes just like her brother, who stood beside her in the photo. Small nosed, sharp eyed, she had a smile that could’ve melted anyone. On the photo, someone had written “Lewis & Blanche 1940.”

Alice changed into her sleepwear and brushed her hair. Despite the calm of the house they stayed in, her mind raced. She’d napped fitfully on the train. None of the men had said anything, but she could tell they’d noticed her disturbed sleep. With a sigh, she stood in the bedroom and looked around. Finally, she tiptoed barefoot back down the stairs. To her surprise, she found Lewis Nixon standing in the kitchen, pouring himself a drink.

“Got enough for a second drink?” she asked quietly. Alice leaned against the counter top.

Nixon looked at her in surprise. “You’re still up?” Grabbing a second glass, he found a bottle of red wine. “Here.”

She hummed. Putting it to her lips, she took a sip. Merlot, it tasted like. Not her favorite, but a good blend. “Not bad.”

With a snort, he shook his head. He poured her some more to top it off. “How do you like Blanche’s room?”

“It’s nice. Did she take all the photographs?”

He smiled. “Yeah. She’s damn good, isn’t she? Even as a kid she could get incredible photos. She got a bunch when we spent time in Europe.”

Alice took her wine with her as she moved into the living room to their left. She settled on the couch, and Nixon took a large, comfy chair. They stayed quiet. But Nixon eventually interrupted the peaceful silence.

“What did the men treat you to last night?”

“We had drinks and then they insisted we play Truth or Dare back at the barracks,” said Alice. She couldn’t suppress a grin. “It was quite entertaining.”

“Shit, wish I could’ve seen it.” He took a drink of his whiskey. “Did you take more truths or more dares?”

“I only took one dare. And no, I’m not telling you what it was. But the truths weren’t too bad.”

“Yeah?”

“I think the toughest was having to tell each what my first impressions of them were.” She hid a small smile behind her wine glass. Memories of the previous night rushed back in.

“Yeah? What were your first impressions of us three?” He also tried to hide his smirk behind his glass, but the small size of the shot glass failed him.

Alice scoffed. “We aren’t playing.”

“So you’re too scared to say?”

“I never said that.”

“Then tell me.”

Another sip of red wine coated her mouth and throat. She closed her eyes for a moment and focused on the tingling growing in her extremities. Outside the massive windows, Alice could still see the snow falling.

“Fine. Well. I met you and Dick at the same time. I definitely remember thinking that Dick was kind, and thoughtful, and would be someone I would enjoy getting to know. A level head.” Alice paused, taking another sip. “You on the other hand were louder and more brash. Like most Americans.” She gestured for him to stop as he went to reply. “But, you also had wit, and honestly seemed least confused about how to interact with me.” She nodded. “I appreciated that.”

“And Ron?”

She grinned. “Ronald Speirs. I find it funny, the enlisted don’t like that I’m on a first name basis with him. They seem to think he’s dangerous.” After Nixon laughed, she continued. “Ron Speirs. He intrigued me. He’s quiet, but intense, and smart. He’s the kind of man we would’ve died to have on our side in the Maquis.”

“Hm.” Nixon didn’t respond right away. He just watched her, thinking.

Alice shifted in her seat. “Your turn.”

“What?”

“First impressions of me. And you’re not getting out of this.” She stood up. Walking to the kitchen, she added, “You have until I refill my glass to think about it.”

She came back into the living room a few minutes later. Her bare feet padded against the hardwood floors. Nixon had started the fireplace and turned off the main light. Neither wanted to wake up the two who were sleeping upstairs.

“First impressions of you?” He smirked. “A fish out of water.”

“Rude.”

He just laughed. “Oh come on. It’s true. You held your own well, but you didn’t quite know what to do with yourself, and no one else knew what to do with you.”

“You’re so fucking observent, I hate it.” She gulped down more of her wine. “I don’t know why they haven’t put you in Intelligence yet. But besides me being totally out of my depth, what else.”

“Smart. Anyone with a brain of their own could see that. You knowing four languages said enough.” Then he paused to take a drink. “Lonely. I don’t think I need to explain that one. Beautiful, kind, sad.”

Alice shot him a look. But she didn’t protest. She’d asked for the analysis. Sometimes she forgot how smart Nixon was until he dropped his humor.

“You also tried very, very hard to not be friends with anyone.”

Alice groaned. “Yes. That ship sunk.”

With a chuckle, he agreed. He took a drink. “Yeah, well I made sure of that.”

This time it was Alice who laughed. “You give yourself too much credit. George Luz was a driving force there.”

Nixon didn’t respond right away. He retreated back into the kitchen to get more alcohol, leaving Alice to sip her wine. The fire blazed, warming the room. The crackle and pop created a nice background, almost a sort of music, to the wintry night. Her body relaxed as she watched the dancing flames.

“You’re not tired yet?” He asked, amused. Nixon stood in the doorway into the living room, sipping at more whiskey.

Alice shrugged. “I can go upstairs if you want to sleep.”

He scoffed at her. “Please. I can stay up for hours.”

“All you need is a good drink, huh?” She laughed at him. With a shake of her head, she sighed. “Sleep hadn’t been easy for me lately. I need to wear myself out first.”

“We could do a Currahee run,” he joked.

“Don’t even joke about that!” But Alice grinned and shook her head.

Nixon chuckled under his breath. Then, after a long drink, he looked at her again. “I swear you’ve said more meaningful things in the last half hour than I’ve ever heard you utter before. Is it possible that Alice Klein is learning to trust people?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Just making an observation.”

She hummed. “Maybe I’ve had more to drink than I should’ve. My tongue’s gotten too loose.”

“No, I like this Alice Klein.” He shook his head. “Blanche would like you. You two need to meet.”

“You talk about her, but you know who you don’t talk about?” she said, leaning forward.

“Yeah, who’s that?”

“Your wife.”

Nixon froze. She saw him play with the ring on his finger. She debated apologizing for the obvious question she’d posed.

“Now who’s too observant?” He muttered. He took another drink, quickly. “Kathy, Katherine Page. She’s from another rich San Francisco socialite family. Her brother went to Yale too, a few years before me.” He shrugged. “Match made in heaven.”

Alice didn’t ask any more questions. Even with the significant amount of alcohol she’d consumed, she didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole which obviously made Nixon uncomfortable. Instead, she just took another drink.

“Come on,” Nixon said. “You look exhausted. Go to bed.”

Alice frowned. She subconsciously played with her wine glass, her thumb passing over the rim repeatedly. Her gaze jumped away from Nixon to outside instead.

“There’s the Alice Klein we’re all used to. Tight lipped. Mysterious,” he tried to joke.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to him. “It’s just been a rough week with dreams. Nothing to worry about too much.”

“Come on. I tell you what, if you can’t sleep, wake me up and we’ll get more alcohol. If you can’t sleep after getting drunk, then we have a real issue.”

Alice chuckled at him. After downing the last bit of her third glass of wine, she got up. She hoped he was right. Hopefully she’d consumed enough to put her to sleep. She could feel her eyelids drooping anyways. Before long, she found herself in Blanche Nixon’s room, shutting the door and climbing beneath the sheets. The feel of a real bed soon had her sighing in contentment. The combination of comfort and wine had her asleep in minutes.


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

Alice sat outside a café, hands gripping a cup of coffee. Steam rose from the cup, mixing with her breath in the cold. To her left, Ron also had black coffee. They watched men and women move up and down the street, cars driving by loudly. The sides of the street had white snow piled up, stained black by dirt.

They'd gotten to the city for breakfast. Sitting outside the café had been Alice's idea. She missed doing so in Paris as an adolescent. She could feel her cheeks redden from the cold, but with her coffee she didn't mind.

After a while of not speaking, Alice turned to Ron. "This is much better than Fort Benning," she said. "But don't tell Nix I said that. He'll gloat."

Ron snorted, nodding. "True."

Another few minutes passed. They still hadn't seen head nor tail of Nixon or Dick. Finishing up her coffee and pastry, Alice returned the dishes inside the café. When she got back outside, the other three stood waiting.

"So. What do you want to do?" Nixon rubbed his hands together to keep warm. He looked between Dick and Ron, but focused on Alice.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, Central Park isn't far by way of the new Subway system, or we can walk." He glanced between the others. "Then we could check out the Met."

Alice looked at him in confusion. "The Met?"

"Metropolitan Museum of Art."

Dick couldn't suppress a smile. He shook his head. "Is this what rich jerks from Yale do in their spare time."

"You're just jealous, Dick." Then he turned. "Ron?"

The man just shrugged. He lit a cigarette. "I'm following you. Don't make me regret it."

They started down the street. Alice stood next to Nixon, trying not to waste any moment exploring "The Wonder City," as she saw signs describe it. New York felt more packed in than Paris, but it had its own charm. Despite the occasional bad smell, or dirty snow at the side of the roads, it had marvelous sights. The buildings in New York towered above them.

Central Park covered in snow was beautiful. Some of the iron fences were rusty and in need of repair, but she guessed that everything had suffered from the Depression. More than a handful of dogs were being walked around the park. She didn't even try to hide her enthusiasm when she saw them.

The whole while she, Dick, and Ron listened to Nixon explain what they saw. This street here, that statue there, he knew quite a bit about the city. She liked hearing him speak about it. He wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Guarnere with Philadelphia, but he clearly took pride in New York.

As they finally reached the entrance of the Met, Alice finished up one of her cigarettes. She tossed it away. By this point it was nearly lunch. They decided on pizza near the museum. She hadn't tasted real pizza in well over six months, not since England. She devoured it.

"Right, so we tour the Met and then maybe go see that new movie. What's it called?" Nixon looked around at them. "You know, the war one?"

"Casablanca?" Dick said.

"Yeah, that one."

They all agreed. Alice grinned widely as soon as she stepped inside the museum. It didn't take long to find the European painters. A whole collection spanned a massive wing. While Dick and Nixon mocked each other over social status, Alice spent time with the art. She sought out the French painters.

They came upon a new collection about an hour and a half into their visit. Ron and Alice walked together. She had a feeling he was playing babysitter while Nixon was too busy joking around with Dick. But she didn't mind. His steady presence was comforting.

"Albrecht Dürer!" She gasped, hurrying over to a wall with block prints. Ron didn't follow at first, so she just spoke to herself. "What a find!"

A man who worked at the museum heard her. He wandered over. Well groomed brown hair framed a boney face with thin lips. He smoked a cigarette lazily. "You know Dürer?"

"Of course. Anyone with an interest in art from Germany would know Dürer." She gestured to the print on the wall. "His block prints are phenomenal. Nürnberg produced a fabulous artist."

"You're from Germany? Nürnberg?"

Alice paused. She saw his eyes narrow, and briefly regretted her words. Suddenly she missed being in uniform and not a dress. "Originally. Though I am from Hamburg not Nürnberg."

His jaw clenched. She could all but see his mind working. The middle aged man moved towards her and the artwork. Alice took a half step back. Her heart pounded. Here she was just a young woman, not a paratrooper in training, and definitely not a Lieutenant in the United States Army. And now, he saw her as a German, a native German.

"It's a good thing you're not from Nürnberg. I'm sure the police would love to get their hands on a Nazi broad." Then he paused. "Though, Hamburg isn't that far from it."

She would've laughed if he hadn't been so angry. "Hamburg is in the north, Nürnberg is the south. They are quite different."

"Yeah, and who rules 'em both?"

Alice gritted her teeth. She stepped away, leaving Albrecht Dürer's work behind. But the curator hadn't finished. He shouted at her to wait.

"The Nazis take art from all over the world. I'm just glad we stole some of theirs, you skirt!"

With a deep breath, Alice turned. She walked a few steps back towards him. Her body trembled. Anger pulsed through her. "Do you know who the Nazis' first victims were?" He didn't respond, so she just gritted her teeth. "They were German."

Before he could get another word in, Alice moved back to the previous room. She found Ron, Nixon, and Dick talking together. With arms crossed, she tried to calm down. They turned to her, oblivious of what had happened.

"I think I've seen enough," she said. "We should go."

"There's a lot more to see-"

Alice rounded on Nixon, furious. He actually took a quarter step back. All three of them fell silent. She didn't respond to their stares. Instead, she started back the way they came, lighting a cigarette to calm down. She didn't wait.

"What the hell happened?" Nixon rounded on her first as they reached the entrance of the museum. He stood in front of her, blocking her steps.

Alice paused in her steps. She took her cigarette from her mouth and blew the smoke out. "Americans."

"That's not an explanation."

"Someone got offended that I am German. I have no desire to deal with that. I can handle when it's soldiers I outrank, but here I am yet another Nazi broad, as has been repeatedly told to me." She paused, trying to catch her breath as anger enveloped her again. "What's next?"

Dick and Ron both caught up to them, and heard her explanations. But no one responded. They didn't have any idea what to say. As they moved out the door, cold wind hit them all in the face. Alice blinked away tears.

"Come on, let's walk to the cinema." Dick nudged Nixon forward.

Alice trailed behind the two friends, Ron next to her again. They didn't speak. Alice half listened in to Dick and Nixon. Beyond them, though, she listened to the sounds around them. Before long they came across a large square. A Christmas tree thirty feet high at least towered in the center. At the base, an ice rink had been erected.

Nostalgia crashed into her. The sound of skates across the ice filled her body with trembling. She could feel it. Alice stopped walking as they came closer. She didn't speak at first. But then she asked them to wait. "Do any of you skate?"

They all turned back to her. The four of them moved out of the way of people. She shuffled self consciously. Dick told her no.

"Not well," Nixon joked.

Ron signed and snuffed out his nearly empty cigarette. "Yes, but I'm not about to do it."

With a frown, Alice nodded. She went to keep walking. Her feet didn't want to leave, though. Finally she sighed. "I haven't skated in years. Do you mind?"

They didn't. Nixon tossed her a few dollars and she hurried to get skates. They followed more slowly. After she paid for the rental, Alice took the brown leather skates and moved away to put them on. She slipped her right foot into the skate boot and paused. Her heart raced. The feel of the leather beneath her fingers, and the angle her foot sat at from the blade, reminded her of a person she hadn't let her mind wander to in ages.

"Shit, Alice, you look like you saw a ghost," Nixon said with a laugh. When she didn't respond, he cocked his head. "You didn't, did you? The Ghost of Christmas Past maybe?"

She forced herself to smile. "No, just… thinking."

Without letting him follow up with the inevitable questions, Alice hurried away on her skates carefully. She moved to the ice. Not many people used the rink, so she stepped right on. Wobbling slightly, Alice breathed out.

Before long, she got a rhythm. She distinctly remembered being a better skater the last time she'd done so. As she came along the rink to where Nixon and Ron chatted over coffee they'd bought, she shook her head. She didn't even speak to them, she just grunted in frustration as she passed. "Jean-Luc would be so disappointed in me," she muttered to herself.

With thoughts of Jean-Luc's teasing, Alice forced herself to focus. Her brothers' best friend had been the first to teach her to skate in Paris. She'd tried as child in Hamburg, but never learned. Jean-Luc had seen to it that she could. The last time she'd seen him, they'd taken a walk the day before her twentieth birthday party They'd discussed plans for a new Underground paper he wanted to produce.

She could all but feel his arms around her, the kiss on her forehead. Her cheeks flushed at the thought as she skated. She thanked the cold for hiding it.

The next day, after he'd not managed to attend with her brothers at the Parisian club, separated them forever. Marc had died, she and Robert had fled. It'd been almost two years since she'd seen or heard from him. No letters, no messages. She'd only gotten silence.

As Alice finished another couple laps, falling into her old skill, she sighed. It wasn't the same, skating alone. She left the rink. With a small smile, she undid her skates and returned them. The others waited for her.


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

At two in the morning, Alice crept back down the stairs of the Nixon estate. She couldn't sleep. The movie Casablanca had stirred up all sorts of memories she hadn't wanted to explore. Seeing Nazis on screen rattled her. And seeing Paris, well, that had been a whole other issue.

Wrapped in a massive blanket, she padded barefoot along the hardwood. Her heart pounded. The bottle of wine she'd had the night before still sat on the counter. Finding a glass didn't take long, and soon she had a large glass filled nearly to the brim of red wine.

She took a large drink. Setting it on the side table of the couch, she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped the blanket all around her. In the darkness, she watched snow falling outside the window. Everything here was quiet, too quiet. It meant too much time to think. As Guarnere always liked to tease her, she did too much thinking.

Alice had managed a bit of sleep. But as had been far too commonplace recently, it had ended in blood. That night, she'd been the victim. A member of the Gestapo had found her hiding in a closet. She stood, praying, behind a door as his boots pounded the wooden floors. His cold fingers had grabbed her by the neck when he opened her hiding place. His nails had dug into her skin, leaving red welts where he squeezed.

She had felt, rather than seen, the dagger he plunged into her abdomen. After waking, she'd realized the spot in the nightmare had been the scar she'd gotten in Toccoa. But in the dream, it was real. She'd felt the warm blood flow from the wound. Her hands had desperately tried to stave the blood.

Downstairs in the living room, it felt almost peaceful. All she wanted was to return to Europe. Perhaps, if she went into combat, she could stop thinking and start doing. Alice wrapped the blanket tighter. After another large sip, she shivered. Her focus returned to the snowfall.

Sometime later, footsteps on the stairs pulled her out of her quiet thoughts. She turned to see who had come down the stairs. It barely surprised her to see Nixon duck into the kitchen. He didn't see her until he'd turned back to the living room with a full flask.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," he said quietly. But he cracked a small smile.

Alice scoffed. "If this trip has taught me anything, it's that we have equally bad sleep habits."

"I'm hurt." He certainly didn't seem hurt though. Nixon sat back down in his chair. He watched Alice, who stayed quiet wrapped in the blanket.

She watched the snow. Alice tried to empty her mind, to find silence and peace instead of her racing thoughts. The snow had picked up. Large, soft flakes cascaded down and began to pile. Finally, she stood, shaking off the blanket. "I'm going for a smoke." She finished her glass of wine.

After hurrying upstairs to grab a coat, shoes, and her Lucky Strikes, Alice came back down as quietly as she could. It didn't surprise her that Nixon stood waiting with his coat on. None of the men, enlisted or officer, liked her being outside alone at night back in Georgia since she'd been attacked. It somewhat amused her, but she appreciated their thoughtfulness.

The snow hit her in the face as soon as she walked out the door. A stillness, a sort of impossible silence, had settled on the world. Alice envied it. She lit her cigarette quickly, and offered a light to Nixon. The warm smoke filled her lungs. She sighed and closed her eyes. Flakes fell onto her head, settling in her hair. They stayed quiet for several minutes.

"So, who's Jean-Luc?" Nixon asked. Alice glanced at him in surprise, so he explained. "You said his name at the ice rink. You've not talked about him."

"There are many people I don't talk about," she said. As silence fell again, she shuffled her feet. Finally, she spoke up again. "Jean-Luc was a family friend. He and my brothers were good friends, and when the Nazis invaded, he became part of the Parisian Resistance like the rest of us."

"What happened to him?"

Alice sighed. "I don't know. I haven't heard from him since we fled Paris, two years ago."

"You said he was your brothers' friend. What about yours?"

She let out a deep breath of smoke. It wound its way through the air. Alice shuffled her feet again. "He was my friend as well. It was sort of like having another brother. But different. I don't know. I don't know why I haven't heard from him." Alice could feel tears forming. She willed them away, but they didn't stop. "He's probably dead, or imprisoned. He wanted to start an Underground newsletter that could be distributed between the major French cities. There were a few, but they kept being shut down."

When they finished up their cigarettes, they went back inside. The house felt much more comfortable after being exposed to the cold, night air. Alice breathed into her hands in a desperate attempt to warm them.

"If it keeps snowing like this, we may be stuck here today," Nixon said. He had pushed the curtains back and stood staring out at the yard.

Alice groaned. "Great."

Nixon just laughed at her. A little while later, Alice decided to head back to bed. The cigarette and wine had done the trick, calmed her nerves a bit. She climbed into the warm sheets. The comforter sank over her body, and she buried her face in the pillow. She drifted off in minutes.

When she woke up, the sun shined bright through the curtains of her window. With a small groan, she kicked off the blankets and stood. The floor chilled her feet. Looking out the window, she saw a blanket of white all over the yard and street. Alice grinned.

She slipped on trousers and a button down shirt. Heading down the stairs wearing socks without shoes, she bounced into the kitchen. Dick stood across from Nixon behind the counter, watching the latter cook eggs. She took a deep breath.

"Smells good," she said. "I'm surprised, Nix."

They both looked over at her. The smirk Nixon shot her made her smile. But he just shook his head. "Blanche is terrible at cooking, so my mom taught me too."

Alice laughed. Then she looked around. "Where's Ron?"

"Checking the weather and enjoying a cigarette." Nixon gestured to the back door. "Speaking of weather, we're stranded here for awhile at least."

"Better than being stranded at Benning," Alice said with a shrug. She moved to stand near Dick. "Any idea when breakfast will be ready?"

"Don't rush perfection, Alice."

Dick just chuckled and shook his head. "Your compliment already went to his head."

"Well what do you expect from an arrogant rich jerk from Yale?" Alice sent a wink to Nixon as she spoke.

"I didn't expect that to come from you!" He scoffed. "You're pretty well educated yourself."

She let out a small laugh. "Fair. We were well off in Hamburg. But I didn't go to such a prestigious University."

The door to their left swung open. Ron shook the snow off his boots and ran a hand through his hair. His cheeks looked red from the cold. When the door closed behind him, he shifted off his coat and hung it to the side.

"You're finally up," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry to keep you all waiting. I have a feeling I'm going to miss Blanche's bed more than I was expecting."

They all laughed. Nixon finished up his eggs and pancakes. Taking plates into the dining room, they devoured their meals. Mostly they ate in silence. Once they were all finished up and had helped clean, Alice slipped on her boots and coat.

"I'm going to go outside." She took out a cigarette.

Nixon joined her, and Dick followed them. They stepped into the porch in the back and looked out around them. The snow stood about half a foot tall. A pristine, soft blanket of white covered everything.

Alice lit her cigarette and walked into the snow. She reached down, her bare hands starting to burn from the freezing snow. With a small smile, she moulded the snow into a ball. She looked up. A handful of trees stood about twenty feet away. With a quick snap, she hurled it at the closest tree. It smashed into the closest trunk.

"Nice shot," said Nixon.

She turned back to them. "Can you believe Shifty is almost better than me? Almost."

Dick chuckled and shook his head. "You still give him a run for his money."

"I blame it on American weapons."

That made them all laugh. Alice smirked. She didn't realize that Nixon had walked in front of her, so when she picked up another snowball and hurled it forward, it struck him in the side of the face.

"Oh my gosh!" She covered her mouth in shock. But as he turned back to stare at her, she couldn't help but laugh at the snow stuck in his hair. "I'm so sorry."

Before she could apologize again, he'd thrown a snowball right back at her. Alice yelped and turned away. The snow stuck to her hair as she used her arms to shield her face. After a moment of silence, she removed her hands. Nixon stood smirking. Near the door, Ron watched them with intense interest. Dick seemed amused.

Alice narrowed her eyes and smiled at Nixon. With a quick movement, she grabbed snow and flung at him. "My aim's better than yours." It had hit Nixon straight in the face.

"Hey, Dick, if we team up, we can get her." He brushed the snow from his face. Turning to Dick, they watched him suppress a smile. "Come on. If a rich jerk from Yale is better than you at snowball fights, you've got a problem."

"Wait! Ron you're on my team." Alice backed away as Dick joined Nixon in the snow. She glanced at Ron. He shook his head. But Alice was having none of it. "Oh come off it. It's like a training exercise."

Ron rolled his eyes. But slowly he picked his way into the snow. Reaching down, he grabbed a handful of snow and moulded it into a ball. He threw it so fast at Nixon, that no one had time to duck. Alice broke down laughing. But as two snowballs flew their way, she shrieked and dove towards the trees.

She and Ron each stood behind a tree. They packed the snow, Alice losing feeling in her bare hands. She couldn't bend her fingers, but it didn't bother her.

"You go left, take Nixon. I'll get Winters on the right." Ron glance around the massive tree. He ducked away when a snowball crashed into the trunk. "Ready?"

Alice nodded. "Good luck."

Ron counted down from three. They moved from behind their tree trucks at the same time, diving wide towards the other two. Alice flung a snowball straight at Nixon. When he retaliated, she slid to the ground, falling to one knee. Alice threw a second one, and it struck him in the chest.

Diving to the side again, Alice formed another snowball. But a well packed one from Nixon sent her cursing as it hit her left arm. Alice didn't take much time to fling her own back.

Another one smacked her in the chest. Alice fell backwards, landing in the snow. She couldn't stop herself from laughing as Nixon moved over towards her. A particularly hard snowball from Ron sent him spinning around. Alice broke down cackling again.

"Shit, I can't feel my hands," she said through tears of laughter. Alice tried to catch her breath.

Ron walked over. She grabbed his hand, and he heaved her up. Dick was covered in snow, and stood near Nixon shaking his head. Alice grinned. But Ron pushed her towards the door.

He sighed. "Your hands are freezing. You're going to get frostbite."

She just covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile as she moved past the other two officers. Ron clearly had taken Dick down, and she hadn't don't too terribly with Nixon either. A definite win for them, she decided.

Alice shook the snow off her clothes and hair. Banging her boots against the door frame, she took them off right inside and set them down. Nixon went and started a fire. Pushing her towards a blanket, Ron forced her to warm her hands. A few minutes later, Alice his her face in the blanket. She couldn't stop laughing. But no one minded.


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

Waking up in an army regulation barracks cot instead of a warm, antique bed in the Nixon household almost made Alice want to cry. They'd gotten in late from the train and she'd crashed right to sleep. Alice forced her eyes open. She tried to figure out what had woken her up, because based on the low light levels, it wasn't nearly late enough in the day for her to want to be awake.

Alice sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her nose smelled cigarette smoke. Sure enough, at the other end of the room, Johnny Martin had lit a cigarette. He kept his voice low, chatting quietly with Bull Randleman and what looked like Guarnere and Toye. 

"I should have you shot for waking me up," Alice muttered. 

They all looked over at her. Guarnere had the audacity to grin. The other three at least looked a bit sheepish.

"Come on, sweetheart. Ain't you happy to see us?" He walked over, sitting next to her on her cot.

"I would've been happier if I'd been allowed to sleep for a few dozen more hours, Bill." A yawn proved her point. "What time is it?"

"0630," Johnny told her. "You the first back?"

"Yeah, we got in late last night," she said. Alice stood and slipped her fatigues over her shorts. 

Bull lit a cigar with Johnny's lighter. He walked over to her end of the room with the others. "How was New York?"

Her smile told them all they needed. Even Johnny Martin dropped his apathetic expression as she just shrugged. "I'll admit, America isn't so bad."

"Ain't so bad?" Guarnere shook his head. "Hear that boys, we ain't so bad."

"So were the Lieutenants better company than us?" Joe asked. When she looked over at him, he just winked.

"Do I have to answer that one?" She moved from her spot on the cot next to Bill, grabbing her uniform shirt and a bra. Stepping behind the curtain, Alice changed.

She heard the door to the barracks open from where she stood changing. Instantly she knew who it was. Skip Muck and Don Malarkey's laughter filled the room as they stepped inside. Changed, she ducked back into view and tossed her sleeping clothes into her footlocker.

Alice wasted no time in changing the focus of the room. "Hey Skip, how's Faye? She still hanging around with you?" 

"Perfect as usual, Alice. I know you're jealous, it's ok." 

The boys all but cackled at how quickly Skip turned the focus back on her. She pursed her lips. With a hand on her hip, she shook her head. Malarkey snickered as she stood without a response.

"Ouch," she muttered. Alice just moved past them all to head outside. "I guess I'll go find the Lieutenants. They can have the New Year's gifts instead of you."

Their protests made her smile as she stepped out the door. The chilly air didn't stop her either, and she decided to go take a walk by herself. It didn't surprise her even a bit, though, to hear footsteps. She bet it was Bill.

"Jesus Christ I've spent too much time with those guys," Bill Guarnere complained. He fell into step next to her. "Cigarette?"

Alice took the one he offered. "Need some female company?"

"You're certainly a hell of a lot nicer to look at than them, sweetheart." Then he smirked. "You smell better, too."

"Thanks. That's what I'm here for, to look and smell better than you lot."

He grinned at her laughter. They strolled along the paths of Fort Benning relatively quietly for a few minutes. The cold air hit them in the face, and every so often she shied away from a gust of wind.

"How was home?" Alice turned to Bill. "Eat some good food?"

"Yeah my ma cooked the best meal I've had in months. I think Joe stuffed himself even more than me."

"That's a feat."

"You're tellin' me!" He scoffed. "What'd you do with the Lieutenants?"

"We spent the first day exploring New York City. Lieutenant Nixon's family spends summers about forty minutes outside the city, so we stayed there."

"Is Lieutenant Nixon as much of a rich boy as they say?"

Alice snorted. She looked at him in surprise. "His family is definitely well off."

"Didja get snow? We got snow."

"Yes. We got snowed in one of the days. Ended up playing a lot of poker."

Bill grinned at her. "Get any better?"

She just smirked right back. Without responding, Alice continued on down the path. The basketball courts rose up on their left, untouched. She'd seen some of Able Company using them before their time off.

"You any good?" Bill asked her. He stepped up beside her where they looked at the silent court.

"Probably not," she admitted.

Bill grinned. "Good. Then we can teach yah, sweetheart. No reason you shouldn't learn." After a few more minutes of walking around Fort Benning, he turned to her. "How the fuck are you not cold?"

Alice laughed out loud. She turned to Bill and nudged him. "Ice in my veins, Bill. Ice."

"Yeah you're a regular terror. Good thing you're on our side."

But she and Bill Guarnere both made their way back to E Company. On their way they found Chuck Grant standing outside with Floyd Talbert. The latter smoked a cigarette, grinning at something Grant had said.

"Hey! When'd you get back, Lieutenant?" Talbert sent her his usual snarky salute. 

"I got back this mornin', thanks for askin'," Bill broke in. 

He and Alice joined Grant and Talbert by their barracks. The two chuckled at Bill's comment. But Alice just shook her head.

"We got in in the middle of the night," she said. "How was the week off? Did you two enjoy yourselves?"

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad," Talbert said. "Spent some time with family. Did a bit of dancing." He winked at Guarnere, who merely smirked back. "Kokomo's a hell of a town if you know where to go."

Grant just chuckled. He took a drink of his canteen. "Not too bad, not too bad. Didn't do much dancing. Just spent time with family."

"Well that good." Alice glanced at her watch. 0730 hours. "Right. I'm going to breakfast. I'll see you boys later."

She left Guarnere standing with them. He'd pulled out a cigarette. Making her way back towards Mess Hall used for Dog, Easy, and Fox, Alice enjoyed the quietness of solitude. Only a few dozen men made their way across the camp. None spared her a second glance. Most of the 506th, especially Dog and Fox, had become accustomed to her presence at last.

When she walked into the Mess Hall, her feet echoed on the wood floor. Only ten men sat inside. She recognized a few. Grabbing a tray, she walked into line. The man on KP duty slapped down oatmeal, bacon, and two slices of white toast onto her plate. With a thank you, she grabbed a mug of coffee and turned back to the tables.

Skinny Sisk, Shifty Powers, and Carwood Lipton sat together. Alice decided to join them. When she approached their table, they all glanced up. Lipton smiled and scooted down to let her sit on the corner.

Shifty straightened up. "Lieutenant!" 

"Good morning," she said. "How has the break been for you guys? Skinny, you didn't leave, right?"

He shrugged and shook his head. "No, I stayed around here. What did you do, Lieutenant?"

"The Lieutenants and I went to New York City. Lieutenant Nixon has a family home outside the city." She smiled. "It was nice. What about you two?" Alice turned her attention to Lipton and Shifty.

"Well, ma'am, I went home to see my dad." Shifty straightened up again. "We did some hunting."

Alice didn't even bother to correct his use of ma'am. She'd accepted it long ago. There was no way Shifty would drop the formalities. "That sounds nice. Lip?"

"My brother and I did some camping," he said. "It was good. Nice to get out. What did you do in New York, Alice? Joe said it snowed in Philly. Did it snow up where you were?"

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah it did actually. Quite a bit. Honestly it felt great. We went to a museum on the first day and then saw the new movie Casablanca."

"Oh I heard about that one. It's about the war, right?"

"Yes. It was good. I enjoyed it." Alice decided not to mention anything about the nightmares it had caused. She trusted Lipton fully, but didn't see the need to trouble Skinny or Shifty with it. "Are you boys planning on doing anything specific for New Year's Eve? I'm sure George and Bill with both insist on a party. I'll probably have to get them both back to the barracks after they inevitably drink too much."

Skinny cracked a smile. He picked at his food, highly amused at the mental image. "Add Lieb to that list."

"Oh absolutely!" Alice laughed. "And Malarkey. I'm sure Malarkey will drink too much." After all of them laughed again, she shook her head. "You three will need to help me out, so you better come to whatever party they throw."

"As long as you don't drink too much," Lipton added with a smirk. As he scooped more of his oatmeal into his mouth, he suppressed a grin. "Joe and Bill already proved they can out drink you."

Both Skinny and Shifty look between Lipton and Alice. She groaned. "I should have you shot for spreading rumors."

He just laughed. "Rumors? I didn't think it was a rumor."

With her own small laugh, she shook her head. Skinny smiled along with them. Alice dug back into her food, feeling more hungry by the minute. She listened to Lipton talk to Shifty. The two had taken the train home together and split in Virginia to go their separate ways.

When she finished up eating, she waited for the other three. Together they dumped their trays. Alice hugged her arms over her chest for warmth. Walking across Fort Benning, she stayed relatively quiet. She listened to the sounds around her instead.

"Jesus, It's only been a week and I come back to find the love of my life cheating on me with Lip? I knew you were easy but not that easy, Lip."

Alice broke into a huge grin at the sound of George Luz's voice. They all turned to find him striding over with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Frank Perconte walked next to him, cracking up at their expressions.

"You know, if he had any dignity, he'd be asking for your forgiveness," Perco added. "Get down on his knees or somethin'."

"You two have no shame." Alice couldn't help but laugh at the looks on Shifty and Lipton's faces, though. 

George winked and tossed her a bar of chocolate as he got closer. "Here. Maria's compliments. I mentioned I knew a girl who liked Hershey's. She wouldn't let me leave without bringing you one."

"She's a smart one, that kid," Alice said.

"Don't I know it." George turned to the others. He shuffled between his feet in the cold. "You guys good? Everything go well?"

They exchanged pleasantries for a bit. Alice asked Frank how his trip had been. He had one of the furthest trips to make. But he said it'd gone over with flying colors. They all stood near Easy Company's barracks for a few minutes, talking about Christmas and the few days they'd had home. But eventually the cold got the better of the group, and Alice, George, and Frank ended up heading back into their barracks.

To pass the time, they ended up playing some poker. With every game she played, Alice got better. Now she could keep up with most of the men in her company. It pleased her to no end. 

Throughout the day, men continued to trickle in. They still had several days before everyone had to be back on base, but it seemed most had come to the same conclusion: playing it safe made more sense than risking a no show on Monday of training. With each man to show up in the barracks, Alice felt herself feeling more and more happy. The days off had been a welcome respite, but now she wanted to get back amongst the men.


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

Alice had spent the day reading letters written by her Company. She'd not had time to read many of the ones she'd been given on her birthday, and decided it was about time. Most of them were full of inside jokes, a bit of trash talk, and in the end well wishes. Most of them also came from her platoon. A few surprised her though. 

Several of the guys from Third Platoon had written one together: Shifty, Skinny, Grant, and Tab. She could immediately tell who was who even without their names. Talbert could give Guarnere a run for his money in flirting when he wanted to. Shifty stood on formalities. Both Grant and Skinny had kind words for her, though Skinny had more questions than the other.

After finishing up the letters, Alice disappeared from her barracks. She took some paper, several pencils, and her book. Several picnic tables on the far side of Fort Benning were rarely used, so she set up shop there. She had letters to write.

Several of the letters came easily for her. Despite the chilly air, she scratched her plain script across the page for each one. Mostly she wrote them heartfelt thank yous, and well wishes for the coming year. She tried to tie in anything they'd mentioned in the letter to her, so they knew she'd read it and appreciated it.

She found herself smiling over Skinny's note more than she expected. Every interaction she'd had with him had been pleasant, but those hadn't been all too common. Her Second Platoon boys overwhelmed pretty much all interaction she had around the enlisted men. But in his portion of the Third Platoon letter, Skinny had sounded genuinely interested in getting to know her more. _"I'd love to grab breakfast with you, Skinny. Then maybe I can answer some of your questions in person!"_

It surprised her how easily Ron Speirs' letter flowed. She just sort of poured out her thoughts, mostly cohesively. Alice told him about how she appreciated his friendship, his presence, his intelligence. He was calm unless provoked, unbothered by most things, at least on the surface. That stuck out to her a lot, and she told him so. She admired him for it. " _I know this is probably a bit hypocritical coming from me. But, don't forget to have fun. Throw a few more snowballs in 1943."_

But for some, words didn't come right away. George Luz's name scrawled across the page and stayed there, untouched, for several minutes. How in six months she had come to care for the man like she did, Alice honestly didn't know. After staring at the page, heart pounding, she set the pencil to it again. " _When I arrived in America, I lost two brothers. But I gained a new one."_

Lewis Nixon's also had her staring at a blank page for a while. Of all the officers, she considered him her closest friend. George had become a brother. Nix had become… what exactly, she wasn't sure: a confidant, an advocate, a smoking buddy, a source of morale, a partner in crime, someone who forced her to sharpen her mind? 

Alice sighed. She looked at the paper, what she'd written so far. She'd put in a few jokes about Yale, a few about Vat 69. She'd thanked him for the New York trip. She'd expressed a desire to meet Blanche. With a nod to herself, she continued on. Alice did her best to express how she felt, how grateful she felt for his friendship. With a smirk, she decided how to end the letter. " _Last time I went out, I only gave the enlisted dances. You looked a bit miffed. Save me some of your secret Vat 69 stash and you've earned yourself a dance to start 1943."_

By the time she'd finished her New Year's gifts, Alice almost couldn't feel her hands. The temperature had climbed into the upper fifties fahrenheit, but with the sun starting to go down, it had dipped. She looked down at the letters. Flipping through them, she looked at the names.

_Alex Penkala. Skip Muck. Don Malarkey. Carwood Lipton. Floyd Talbert. Chuck Grant. Bill Guarnere. Joe Toye. Joe Liebgott. Skinny Sisk. Shifty Powers. Gene Roe. Johnny Martin. Bull Randleman. Pat Christenson. Frank Perconte. George Luz. Dick Winters. Ron Speirs. Lewis Nixon._

Mostly Second Platoon, but she made sure to hit some of the more vocal boys in First and Third. Alice tucked the letters all beneath her jacket. Walking across Fort Benning as quickly as she could, by the time she'd reached her barracks, the men had all gone to dinner. She grinned.

Alice lay the letter for each person on their cot. She tried to tuck it a bit into the space between rough blanket and pillow. With Second Platoon done, Alice headed back outside and delivered the few for First and Third. By the time she finished, she hurried over to Mess Hall. Most of the men were finishing up.

"Here you go." Alice rubbed her hands together, dropping the three letters for Ron, Dick, and Lewis between them as they ate. "Happy New Year." 

Without even giving them time to process what had happened, she hurried back out into the cold, dark evening. She left them in the middle of chewing at their meals. But she had stuff to do. The late lunch she'd eaten sustained her as she dug through her footlocker for her wallet. Thankfully, the PX on base stayed open for awhile even on New Year's Eve.

She ducked inside, thankful to be out of the ever increasing wind. Alice nodded and smiled at the private working as a clerk. She moved quickly to the back of the store where she found the treats. She grabbed a handful of Hershey bars, Baby Ruths, and a dozen packs of Lucky Strikes. Forking over the money, it hurt her only a little to let the bills go. She reminded herself it was for a good cause.

Alice broke up the chocolate candies between the members of Second. She put them gently on their cots, along with an equal number of cigarettes, or for those who didn't smoke, more candy. Satisfied at last, Alice stood back and nodded. Her watch read 1930. 

The men had talked about trying to get to a bar by 2030. It would take at least twenty minutes of walking to get to the good strip of bars in town. Alice reached into her footlocker, where she'd stuffed the new dress she'd splurged on in New York City. 

Changing didn't take too long. The dress had caught her eye immediately. The gold and black fabric had been shirred up the side of her bust area, but the skirt still left enough room to not be too provocative and allow for dancing. It fell just to the knee, with a v-shaped neckline. A small black belt pulled around her waist.

Red lipstick, a bit of eye makeup, and rouge rounded out her look. She used her mirror to check it before ducking back into the main area from behind her curtain. Alice padded across the wood floor barefooted. She brushed her hair while looking out the window. She needed to cut it. Alice preferred to keep it to just brushing her shoulders, for ease and practicality. It had already grown an inch below that.

While she put away her makeup and hairbrush, the door opened. Alice turned to see who had come back. 

"Jesus, I always forget how good you clean up, sweetheart!" Bill grinned, moving further into the room.

Alice just laughed. She sat down on her footlocker, legs crossed. "Sometimes it's nice to put myself a bit more together."

"Holy shit." George paused as he stepped inside also. But a shove from behind moved him along. "See this is why I tell Victoria that she needs me when we go out. You expect to dress like that and not have crazy boys hanging off your shoulder!"

Alice laughed again. By now, several other guys had come inside. They moved on.

"Gonorrhea, Luz, you're both drooling," Don teased. He picked his way around the barracks to his cot. "Leave her alone."

George just moved over to her though, sitting adjacent to her on her bunk. He reached into his pocket and handed her a cigarette. "Here."

She took it gratefully as he offered her a light too. "So, what's the plan. You all have to get all spiffy too. I'm not going to be seen with you in any less than dress uniform. I'll go dance with Tab instead. He's been dying for that."

They cracked up. As more members of Second Platoon returned from dinner, Alice slipped on her dress shoes and dug for her coat. Soon enough, most of the men who had talked about going to an off-base bar had changed into their best uniforms.

Alice shivered as she stood outside the barracks, waiting for the rest of them. Her hands slipped into her coat pocket. The one thing she hated about women's clothes compared to the army stuff was that at least the army knew how to keep warm. Her shoes tapped against the ground. Her body trembled. "Scheisse."

"Did they leave you behind?" 

Alice turned from where she had been staring at the barracks door. Lipton strolled over, dressed to the nines. He offered her a small smile. Alice just shook her head.

"They're still inside." Her teeth chattered. Alice did her best to hide it. "Slow pokes."

Lipton laughed. He joined her, waiting at the Second Platoon barracks. They stood in silence for a moment. Only the sound of Alice shivering made any noise until Lipton broke in again.

"Thank you, for the letter." His breath formed a cloud as he sighed. "Not sure I agree with it-"

"You're one of the best damn leaders in this whole Company, Lipton."

"Just trying to do my job."

Alice nodded. "And you do it well. Honestly, the way you keep the men from trying to murder Sobel is admirable."

He hummed, still not entirely convinced. Turning to her, he shrugged. "You and George are the reason Easy hasn't gotten fed up."

"George, definitely. George Luz is a master at the art of distraction. I, on the other hand, just try to navigate a few different roles. Some of them more effectively than others."

"Yeah, I'm sure it's tough. Being an officer but grouped in with us."

Alice looked at him. "Yeah. Well, it just means accepting the fact that I have to earn the respect handed to the others."

"Which you have."

"For the most part, I like to think so," she agreed. Her trembling continued, and she grunted in annoyance. Her breath came in small clouds. "What the hell is taking them so long!"

As if on cue, they filed out of the barracks. She walked next to Lipton and George on the way to the strip of local bars. She didn't talk much. The cold started to burn her skin as they walked, and she focused on keeping herself from shivering too much. 

They settled on a bar about half an hour away. It was cozy, without many soldiers. Several locals sat around drinking. When Alice slipped inside, she went straight to a table in the corner. Her hands shook. The warmth of the bar slowly took effect.

"This seat taken?" Floyd Talbert scooted into a chair next to her. "Damn, you look cold, Lieutenant."

"Thanks, I didn't notice that Tab." She folded her arms across her chest, pulling in tight and hiding her hands. "Do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Find someone to buy me a drink."

He laughed and stood up, saluting. "Whatever you say." 

Alice watched him slip through the ever increasing crowd. Most of Easy had filled the bar, and she began to recognize some of the sergeants from Fox and Baker companies as well. Swing music played in the background. The smell of lit cigarettes and alcohol filled the room. Alice took a deep breath. 

Joe Toye walked over with a glass of wine a few minutes later. He set it down in front of her. "Tab said you needed a drink?"

"Yeah." She sighed contentedly as the red wine passed her lips. "Good one. Thanks."

Once she'd warmed up, Alice spent most of the time mingling with the men. Some of them played cards, a few got into darts. Some just stood and chatted. With a smile, she moved between groups. After watching a beer chugging competition between Guarnere and Randleman, she slipped back into the corner seat she'd used at the beginning of the night. Someone shushed the room. The radio turned up.

" _The crowds have gathered in Times Square with just a minute to go before the New Year. Though we won't see a lit up ball tonight, we've gathered together to usher in a year that will hopefully see peace in America."_

Alice listened along with the rest of the patrons. She raised her third glass of wine to her lips. The alcohol warmed her body as she drank it.

" _As we await 1943, remember how vital it is to help your country in the fight against the Nazis and the Japs. We need you! All of you."_

Closing her eyes, Alice took a deep breath. Easy Company stood still around her. The world seemed to stand still. 

_"Fifteen seconds. We ask that you hold a minute of silence when the year changes, folks. Five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One._ "

The radio feed went quiet. In Times Square, the people stood silent. In Fort Benning, they stood silent. In her heart, Alice said goodbye to a year that had seen more changes than she'd ever expected. She said a prayer for the new one.

" _Happy 1943, folks. May the New Year be a damn sight better than the old one. Don't forget to buy bonds, and support the war effort in any way you can. We can do it."_

Someone switched the radio back to music. The bar returned to celebration, if a bit more subdued than before. Drinks clanked, alcohol sloshed. Some men danced with local women. Alice watched Guarnere and Talbert playing darts. She sighed. A sudden desire to leave the party crashed over her. Grief for what she'd lost that year, mourning for her family, she wanted to get away. She felt guilty for celebrating the start of a new year when her family would never be able to do the same. She shifted in her seat.

"You ready to head out?" George plopped down next to her, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He had a cigarette in his mouth and shuffled through a large pile of bills. 

Alice finished her drink. "Yeah. But if you want to stay, I'll find someone who's done."

George laughed at her. "Please. Me leaving to walk you back gives me an excuse not to keep playing and lose all this money."

"Fair point." Alice grinned and shook her head. They both stood up from the table. Shifting on her coat, she scooted through the crowd, George behind her.

When they walked out into the cold, she cringed back. The temperature had fallen again, and the wind picked up. She missed the moderate temperatures of the day time. Clenching her jaw against the pain, she walked on. George walked next to her, attempting to count his stack of bills again. It surprised her, how quiet he stayed. She supposed the turn of the new year had been sobering for others.

"Hey, Alice."

She glanced over at him. Through chattering teeth, she responded. "Yeah?"

"Eh, nevermind."

With a roll of her eyes, she turned back to him again. But she didn't say anything. They entered the ground of the base moments later. Easy Company's barracks weren't far. Soon they were walking up to Second Platoon's barracks, both of them chilled to the bone. Alice breathed a sigh of relief when they got inside.

"I do not want to shower and then walk back in this weather," Alice muttered.

George chuckled. "Yeah, well, I've gotta stand guard so let's make it quick for both our sakes, yeah?"

She did her best. The walk to the showers that Easy Company's enlisted used weren't too far. But the chill in the air nipped at her damp skin and hair after she finished. It continued to surprise her how George didn't talk as much as usual. Instead he just smoked a cigarette and stayed with her. When they got back to the barracks, Alice putting away her stuff and laying out her towel to dry, she turned to him.

"What's got your tongue tonight?"

George looked up from where he'd been stashing his winnings. He paused. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He held it up.

"You guys read them?" Alice shuffled where she stood. Her heart leapt into her throat. She started rambling. "It was the only thing I could think of to give you all for New Year's. I meant what I wrote, I'm sorry if it was pressure or something-"

"Jesus Christ, Alice." George chuckled a little bit. "Slow down. I just don't know how to say thank you."

"You? It's me who should be thanking you. Honestly, George, I don't think I would've adjusted to America without you." Alice his her face behind her hand. Thoughts of the past year rushed in, unbidden. Her heart pounded. 

"Eh, you would've been fine. You don't take no for an answer." George smirked and sat down on the cot next to her. He handed her a cigarette. "Plus I'm pretty sure after you punched Nixon in the face, the officers took a liking to you. And if Lieutenant Winters likes someone, nobody's gonna argue."

Alice chuckled. She felt the nicotine take effect. Her stress faded away, and she took a deep breath. "Maybe the war will end this year."

"Amen." 

They sat silently together, smoking cigarettes in the empty barracks. Alice felt a few tears on her cheeks. But overall, she just enjoyed the company of George and the smoke. When their cigarettes died, she turned to him. Without waiting, Alice put her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

"Happy 1943." 

He hugged her back. "Happy 1943."


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

This was it. Alice stood in the large hanger at Fort Benning, heart racing and body trembling. Her gear weighed heavy on her body. For the fifth and final time that week, she found herself actually thankful for the rigorous training Sobel had put them through during their Toccoa months. But before each jump from the C-47, she really did think about what she owed the Captain.

Tower Week had come and gone quickly. All time spent in training had been stuffed full of information. She found herself spending any free hours going over procedures in her head. As Tower Week came to a close, they set their sights on the final stage: Jump Week.

The first jump from the airplane had been simply sensational. By far the worst part had been standing in the plane, hooked up, waiting. It had just been so much waiting. The boys had enjoyed teasing her and each other about the quite intimate pat down required for equipment check. But when the time came in the plane, all thoughts of the fact that Bill Guarnere of all people had the job of checking her stuff did absolutely nothing to make her embarrassed. In fact, she just trusted him to make sure she didn't die, and that brought a great deal of comfort.

When the Sergeant Airborne had ordered them ready to jump, she'd all but blacked out. She didn't remember much after that first jump other than the screaming winds around her, and the sudden weightlessness as she left the body of the C-47. 

Then she'd done it three more times. By the end of the fourth jump, she'd done more smiling than sweating. Alice had spoken much to the other men the whole day. Her thoughts occupied her too much. Guarnere picked up on it at least once and made sure to point it out. And now, at 2200 hours, she would make her fifth and final jump. The Night Jump would make or break the chances at being a certified paratrooper.

Alice shuffled where she stood in the hanger. Joe Toye stood in front of her, Bill Guarnere behind. She twirled a bit of hair that had fallen out of her helmet. Chewing at her lip, Alice waited for them to get the all clear to board the airplane. 

"One more to go, sweetheart. This is it."

She turned where she stood to look at Bill. With a quick nod, she smiled at him. Her body still shook, despite having done four jumps already.

Guarnere reached up and adjusted her helmet. It had fallen a bit over her face. "Right. You might wann'a be able to see."

Alice flashed him a tight smile. She tapped him on the helmet. "Don't die out there." 

He grinned right back. "We ain't at war yet."

A commotion made them both turn. The Sergeants Airborne stood at the plane and gave them the all clear to board. Slowly but surely, the men of her group moved forward. Each step made her tremble. The thought of flying through the air again kept her smiling.

Her feet hit the ladder up. Bill kept her steady for a moment from behind as she moved up into the plane. Joe Toye hoisted her in the last bit. She moved to her seat.

It only took a few minutes before the engine roared to life for the fifth time that day. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins. As their C-47 rolled out of the hanger, she glanced out the window nearest her. Darkness fell all around them. The plane shook, rattling. Belts with metal clasps dangled around and hit the plane sides. 

Alice started counting back from one hundred. She focused her mind on only that. Her thoughts cleared.

"Hook up!"

Alice snapped to attention. She held up the small hook that would hold her to the plane. At the command, she stood and moved into the center of the plane. The light at the door glowed red. Her breathing shallowed. Her body trembled.

She hooked onto the center line. The wind outside echoed through the open body of the C-47. Alice couldn't stop shaking. When the order to check equipment came, she did so for Joe Toye quickly and carefully. Screams of their countdown sounded through the plane.

"Four okay!" 

After she'd shouted forward, Alice shuffled in place. Her eyes stayed locked on the little red light. It glowed alone in the blackness. She watched it.

It turned green. Within just a few seconds, the first man in her plane had jumped. Then another. She moved closed. Then Joe Toye. She stepped. Suddenly it was her. She grabbed onto the sides. She leapt.

Wind slammed into her yet again. It screeched and howled around her as she fell. Counting to four, the jerk of her chute deployment almost made her bite her tongue.

Alice turned off the extra chatter in her mind as best she could. She focused instead on maneuvering how she could. It didn't take long before the ground rapidly approached. 

The impact jolted her. She rolled a bit before scrambling up. The wind tried to pulled her chute. She beat it into submission, not even daring to think about the fact that she'd done it. She'd completed the fifth and final jump.

Alice stuffed the chute into her pack. Moving in the direction of the buses back to base, she tried to take several deep breaths for comfort. It didn't take long before she came across other successful troopers.

"Alice, that you?" It sounded like Malarkey.

"Yes indeed!" As she hurried over to him as best she could in full gear, Alice smiled. It was Malarkey. "Good to see you survived."

Don laughed. "Of course I did. I'm gonna have to if I want to bring home a Luger for my brother."

"What is it with soldiers and Lugers? They're really not that interesting," she scoffed.

She listened to Don Malarkey talk about what he wanted to do with a Luger as they trudged through the darkness towards the DZ rally point. They ran into Skip and Alex along the way. To her relief, this allowed Alice some time to her thoughts while the terrible trio kept themselves entertained.

When she got to the rally point, Alice looked around. Several dozen men of Easy meandered about, some sitting on the ground, others chatting. She searched the crowd. Alice caught sight of George and hurried over.

He stood chatting with Lip and Talbert, laughing over something. She joined them beneath the lights that had been set up. 

"Hey there she is," George said. He grinned and tapped her helmet. "Tab thought you'd died."

"I did not!"

"He was real sad cause you haven't danced with him yet."

Alice laughed at George's analysis. It didn't take long for the officers in charge to order them into the buses. Alice clambered towards the back, followed by George, Lipton, and Talbert. She squished herself to the corner. All through the ride back, she kept quiet. By now, fatigue threatened to over take her. She'd been on edge the entire day, nearly the entire week. With Jump Week over, her body had crashed. 

Alice undid her helmet. Putting it on her lap in what little space the bus afforded, she ran a hand through her sweaty hair. George had lit a cigarette next to her. Settling smooshed between him and the side of the bus, she sighed. The scent of the cigarette made her mouth water. She looked over at the one George had lit.

In a moment of impulse, she grabbed it from him. Floyd Talbert cackled at the incredulous look George sent her. But she put it in her mouth and took a deep breath. Then she closed her eyes and settled back.

"Christ, Alice, you smoke too much," George grumbled. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out another cigarette. 

"George we smoke the same amount," she muttered. 

With the cigarette to calm her nerves, and the total exhaustion in her body, Alice didn't even register his response. Slowly sleep overtook her. 

When she woke up, George was pushing her off his shoulder. He grunted to her to hurry up. She realized the bus had stopped. As he climbed out of the seat, she shook herself awake and followed him. When her feet hit the ground, Alice wobbled slightly. She realized just how much she needed sleep. Her body hated her.

"Damnit, girl, you're about to fall over," George teased. 

"Is that obvious?" She sighed. "I think it's all the stress."

George hummed in agreement. He plopped her helmet back on her head and pushed her forward. They'd been ordered to gather back in the hanger.

She fell into place with Second Platoon. The Sergeants Airborne congratulated E Company for their final jump, letting them know they'd all officially passed Jump Week. They were ordered to report back to the hanger in full dress uniform at 0800, where they would officially receive their wings.

After a welcome shower, Alice crashed into her bunk. The others followed suit. No one had much energy after the day's excitement. But the exact opposite was true in the morning.

Alice changed into her dress uniform as quickly as she could. Colonel Sink had worked with her, so she had pants instead of a skirt, albeit well fitted, feminine pants. She did not mind it at all. In face, the tailored pants looked way better than the originals, in her opinion.

Fixing her hair beneath her cap, she shook with excitement. The boys in her barracks looked spiffy as she reappeared from behind the changing screen. George, Skip, Don, Alex, and Bill chatted a mile a minute. She watched them with a smile.

When she walked outside into the chill morning, she found Dick Winters and Lewis Nixon chatting with Lip, Grant, and Talbert. The three sergeants were definitely the closest to the officers after she herself. It didn't surprise her in the least.

"Good morning," Alice said. She hurried over, still playing with the small cap over her hair. 

"Hey, Lieutenant," Talbert said first. 

As she walked over, the others greeted her as well. She crossed her arms over her chest for a bit of extra warmth. Sliding in between Nixon and Lipton, she smiled again.

Before too long, all the men of Easy Company made their way to the hanger. They lined up in formation by platoon. Alice stood near the front with the rest of the officers. Her eyes followed Sobel as he entered the hanger. Their gazes met and neither looked away until they couldn't hold it anymore.

The entrance of Colonel Sink, Major Strayer, and Major Horton made them all snap to attention. Sink gave a rousing speech congratulating them on their accomplishments before they began to receive their silver jump wings.

When she felt the poke of the fabric on her uniform from the jump wings, Alice tried not to smile too much. As Sink stepped back, she saluted him. He returned it. Her heart threatened to burst. More than anything, she wanted to watch her friends receive their wings, but she couldn't. She stood still, face front, listening to the men receive their award for months of hard labor.

These would be the men who would help save her country, her home. These men, who had spent hours upon hours dealing with a rigid commander, sweltering heat, Currahee, would be there. Brash, arrogant, easy to annoy, these men nevertheless had proven to be what the war needed. Or so she hoped.

The prospect of being a small part of that, even just as a translator or guide or sniper, or whatever they seemed necessary for her, made her smile. Suddenly it didn't matter that these Americans didn't truly understand what they fought for, trained for. They had the heart to get it done either way.

Before she realized what had happened, the ceremony ended. Alice found herself standing in place. Her feet wouldn't move. The tumultuous wave of emotions crashed over her again. This time, fear for their lives and fear for the future had her ensnared. What if they weren't enough? What if Hitler won? She couldn't think about that. But what if the men of Easy never made it home? Was her returning to her home in Europe worth them never returning to their homes in America?

"Hey, sweetheart! Stop thinking!"

An unbidden smile played at her lips when Bill Guarnere threw his arm around her. She just stared at him and shook her head.

He rolled his eyes. "Ok, fine. If yah gonna think, think at the party."

"Party? At 1000 hours?"

"Obviously." He pushed her forward towards the hanger doors. She saw Lieb, Toye, and Luz waiting for her among a handful of other Easy Company men. "It's never too early for a party."


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

**April 1943**

_Camp Mackall, North Carolina, USA_

Alice decided in that moment that if she ever had the chance, she'd punch Sobel in the mouth once for Easy Company and twice more for herself. Then she'd put gallons of starch in his undergarments. After that, she had options. She considered a knife in his back, or a bullet in his temple, or a grenade in his shorts.

She had plenty of time to decide on the method of execution as she lay in the middle of the forest surrounding Camp Mackall, bugs scurrying under her body and twigs digging into her hair. Blue skies mocked her through the trees. Somewhere to her left, Christenson also lay on the leaf litter, and to her right, Perconte. Somehow when Sobel messed up a maneuver, it ended with her and a few other members of Easy lying pretend dead in a ditch.

"Hey Pat?" She stayed on her back, watching the new growth on the trees flutter in the wind. "Pat."

"What?"

"Over under on how many times Guarnere's going to plan Sobel's murder tonight."

There was a pause. She heard a small shuffle to her left. She could practically hear Christenson thinking.

"Six."

"Are you taking over or under?"

"You choose."

Alice hummed. She considered it. In the end she looked his way. A few leaves brushed against her cheeks and she grimaced. "I'll take under."

They fell into silence again. The only noises around them were birds and tree rustles. Her mind wandered back to the topic of Sobel's ineptitude. For the past month, the paratroopers of Easy had been working on much more intense training. The men had received their specific jobs. Lieb had been given a machine gun. Luz was made a radioman. Malarkey, Muck, and Penkala had been grouped as a mortar team. With each passing day, the men trained harder and harder.

Her place had been solidified more as well. Alice spent a lot of her time when not in maneuvers helping train specific groups of soldiers in both French and German. She didn't help only Easy, but the whole 506th regiment. Her talents also lent themselves to aiding the members of regimental and battalion intelligence. They'd call her in once and awhile for opinions on war news related to her countries of origin.

But on most days, she found herself next to Captain Sobel, out in some training course. And inevitably it ended with her, dead, in a pile of similarly dead leaves and sticks. 

"Hey Frank."

"What?"

"Over under how many times George mocks Sobel tonight?"

"You serious?"

"Pick a number."

Silence reigned. Alice waited for him to respond. Part of her was hoping he'd say something like five, and she'd take the under. But Frank was good at these.

"Three, and I take over."

Alice groaned. That was a good guess. "Fine, I'll take under."

Another ten minutes passed. Her helmet had started to cause neck pain. Alice wanted nothing more than to get up and leave, but she knew it wasn't an option. Finally after almost forty five minutes of lying on the hard ground in Camp Mackall, footsteps crashed through the undergrowth. The sun had started to set.

"Right, get up." Sergeant Evans, ever the personal pet of Captain Sobel, walked up to them. "Lieutenant Klein, you're wanted by Lieutenant Winters. You other two are dismissed for the day."

Alice sat up quickly. She looked Evans in the face and waited for him to salute. He did so begrudgingly. It made her smile every time she could actually pull rank. 

Grabbing her gun off the ground, she didn't spare Christenson or Perconte a second glance. As she trudged through the undergrowth, her fury only continued to grow. Alice glared. When at last the large regimental buildings for Camp Mackall came into view, she took off her helmet and hurried forward.

"Corporal, have you seen Lieutenant Winters?" she asked, approaching a man unloading a truck. 

He nodded. "Lieutenant Winters is showing Lieutenant Welsh the barracks, sir. Ma'am."

With the sun setting in the distance, Alice set off towards the enlisted side of camp. She wondered who Lieutenant Welsh was. It occurred to her that maybe Nixon's replacement had already arrived, even though the man had only been transferred to Battalion Intelligence that morning. Her mud caked, leafy gear seemed to weigh more the more she wore it. A shower sounded extremely attractive. Alice tried to block it out of her mind.

As the last bit of sunlight shined over Camp Mackall, Alice caught sight of Dick Winters. He and another, much shorter man appeared from her own barracks where she roomed with a third of Easy Company. The Camp Mackall barracks somewhat annoyed her because these had bunk beds.

Dick noticed her coming over. He stopped what he was doing and they waited for her. When Alice came up, she pulled off her helmet again and looked from Dick to the new officer. He stood a little taller than her, but not by much. He wore his dress uniform just like Dick, and suddenly she felt a bit self conscious to be in a dirty combat uniform.

"Lieutenant Alice Klein, Lieutenant Harry Welsh." Dick made introductions immediately. "Harry's taking over First Platoon from Nixon."

"Hi," she said. 

"I told him a bit about your job," Dick explained. "He just transferred from the 82nd."

"So you really do exist." Harry chuckled and gestured to a group of enlisted men. "The 82nd had heard rumors. But no one could confirm anything."

"Yes. I exist." Alice eyed him warily. She shuffled where she stood, running a hand through her sweaty, matted hair. "Much to Sobel's annoyance, I might add."

With a laugh, he nodded. "I'll bet. I've heard a lot of rumblings about him, too." He paused and looked between her and Dick. Their faces said all he needed to know. "Well. I'm more eager to get to know you than our CO, that much I know, Lieutenant."

Alice smiled. "Oh you'll learn Sobel quick enough, I'm sure. Mean, bitter, generally a poor sport. He also likes to leave me lying dead in ditches when he screws up."

"How long did you get left there today?" Dick asked. He eyed her uniform. "Haven't had a chance to change?"

"Nope." Alice shifted from left to right. Then she glanced at her watch. "He left me there for almost an hour, today. One more hour I'm going to spend planning his execution."

With a snort, Dick shook his head. "You'll learn her fairly quick, too." He smirked. He turned back to Harry. "Smart, kind, liked by pretty much everybody."

"Not Sobel."

"Not Sobel. But Colonel Sink likes you."

Alice smirked. She readjusted her weapon and helmet. "That's my best weapon in this war. The one at the top seems to think I'm valuable in some way."

"In some way? Dick said you speak four languages fluently," Harry pointed out. "That's pretty valuable."

With a grin, she turned to Harry. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Lieutenant."

"Call me Harry."

"Then I'm Alice."

They shook hands officially. Dick seemed pleased. The sun had mostly disappeared as they stood under the bright light of the barracks entrance. With a huff, Alice turned away.

"Right, I look terrible and I smell terrible, and I missed dinner thanks to Sobel. So, unless you needed me for anything else?" She glanced at Dick and he shook his head. "Great. Then I'm going to make one of my bunk mates stand guard while I shower."

"Oh, Alice!" She turned back, and Dick continued. "Nix talked about us all grabbing drinks tonight. To celebrate his promotion."

"You don't drink," she pointed out.

Harry sent her a lopsided grin. "Do you?"

As Dick just huffed, Alice laughed. She winked at Dick and then turned to Harry. "Do I drink? Of course I drink. I'm from France."

"Good. Then we've got one thing in common already!"

A big grin spread across her face again. She turned back to Dick. "What time?"

"Be at the club by 2100."

"Right."

When she walked into her barracks, Guarnere stood around ranting to the five members of Easy currently in their room. It didn't surprise her in the least. All the men looked up when she walked in. Alice grimaced.

"Shit, they left you out there longer 'an usual," Guarnere muttered. "Did you think of a new way to murder Sobel?"

Alice huffed. She moved down to where she had a top bunk above Gene. The medic lay reading. When she reached their two footlockers, he looked up.

"Right now, I just want a shower and some food." Alice stripped off her excess combat gear and stowed it away. With a grunt, she sat on her footlocker and laid her head against the wood wall. She closed her eyes. "Gene?"

"Hm?"

"Can you pass me a cigarette?"

"After you shower."

Alice sighed but nodded. She opened her eyes again. It took significant effort to slip back on her combat boots. In the end, she was accompanied by Gene to the showers.

Having clean hair had never felt nicer when she stepped out of the enlisted showers. Gone were the twigs, pine needles, and mud. She wore a fresh dress uniform, as the officers were expected to wear them on off hours in Mackall, and she gratefully took the offered cigarette from her friend. With the gentle, warm breeze of the end of April on the back of her still damp hair, she smiled.

2100 hours rapidly approached. Alice brushed her hair and stashed her shower kit before heading to find the on base bar. Camp Mackall stretched a lot longer than even Fort Benning, and it took her a good twenty minutes of walking. She passed several different companies on her way, not all of the 506th.

Lighting up a cigarette as she approached the bar, Alice looked around. She didn't see anyone outside, so she went in. It didn't take long to spot Nixon sitting in a corner with both Dick and Harry. She sideled over.

"There she is," Nixon said, grinning. He raised his glass. "Thought maybe you weren't going to show."

"I had to track down some food. Since Sobel saw fit for me to miss dinner," she muttered. Alice slipped into the fourth seat, across from Nixon. Then she sighed. "Nix?"

"Hm?"

"I really don't want to get up again."

He looked at her unamused, but Dick smirked where he sat between them. In the end, Nixon stood and went to order her a glass of wine. When he came back, she smiled and thanked him. 

"See, Harry, she may not actually be in charge, but watch out. She still has plenty of power around here." Nixon put his glass to his lips. "She has one weakness, though."

"Really?" Harry turned to her, amused.

Alice looked confused. "Weakness?"

"Cigarettes. She'll do anything for them."

"Ok, listen here, Lewis Nixon." She sat up straighter, taking her cigarette from her mouth. "I will not do anything for cigarettes. I just happen to be smart enough to know they're good leverage."

Dick shook his head. "Who's idea was it to give out kisses in exchange for cigarettes at Toccoa?"

Alice turned to him in surprise while Nixon just laughed into his shot of whiskey. Quickly, Alice turned back to Harry. "Listen, that's not what it sounds like."

"Oh, it sounds quite entertaining. Tell me more."

Alice groaned. "Dick I did not expect this from you! Nix, sure. But you just stooped to a new low." With a sigh, she took a drink of her wine and then settled back in her chair. She turned to Harry on her right. "Ok, listen. George Luz, who you'll quickly realize is the Easy Company class clown, decided to see if I would be willing to give him a kiss on the cheek since I'm French."

She went on to explain what had happened in Toccoa with the cheek kisses. Attempting to salvage some of her dignity, she spared nothing. Harry listened in amusement as he drank his beer.

"Luz sounds like quite a character," Harry commented.

Alice grinned. She took another drink. "To be honest, and I think these two will agree with me, Luz is one of the reasons the company hasn't actually killed Sobel. Yet. He manages to keep everyone entertained enough to distract them."

Dick agreed. "Sergeant Lipton, he's another one."

Harry nodded. With a quick drink, he continued, "Anyone I need to watch out for?"

"Oh, many." Alice smirked to herself. "Sergeant Guarnere, for one."

Dick and Nixon both agreed immediately, but neither looked upset. Dick nodded and turned to Harry. "Guarnere likes to talk trash. But he's a good leader, and extremely smart when he needs to be."

"Alice does a good job of keeping him reined in," Nixon added. 

"I try."

"Corporal Liebgott," Dick continued. 

Alice chuckled. "He's another one who's likely to break someone's face for a bad look. Don't worry though, he'll listen to you as long as you don't look weak."

"Watch out for the mortar squad of Muck, Penkala, and Malarkey," Nixon added. "They're known for causing trouble together."

Dick agreed. "If they didn't work so well together, we would've separated them."

Harry took another drink and nodded. "So, those are some names to remember. I will do my best."

"Don't worry too much about the enlisted," Nixon added. "Honestly, Alice keeps them reined in through sheer force of will. It's Sobel you have to watch out for."

"Right."

Dick sighed. "Again, let's keep the Sobel talk between us. The last thing we need is for the enlisted to hear us complaining, or the brass for that matter."

They all agreed. The next few hours were spent drinking and chatting, sharing stories of Toccoa and of Harry's time with the 82nd. Alice found herself really enjoying his company. She'd lucked out with getting a replacement officer who didn't see her presence as a nuisance. By the time the four of them left the bar to walk Alice back to barracks, she was thoroughly buzzed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry Welsh is now in this fic so i can die happy. Thanks for all the support!


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

"About 13,000 dead in the massacre." Thirteen thousand. Alice couldn't even begin to fathom the size of that number. She had no frame of reference. But her blood boiled and her body trembled at the thought.

As her fourth glass of wine sat half finished before her, she couldn't concentrate. She'd been called into Intelligence that afternoon. They'd shown her some files that had been smuggled out of Poland, some papers in German they'd wanted her to translate. Not far from her in the room, Nixon and several others examined the transcript from the Bermuda Conference. Alice had listened intently.

Thirteen thousand dead. The entire Jewish population of the city of Warsaw had been eradicated after they'd revolted against the Nazis. Thirteen thousand dead. And yet, the British and the Americans still restricted aid to Europe's Jews. Platitudes of the necessity to win the war stood in the place of actual, meaningful help to the Jews as the Bermuda Conference had come to an end.

Her hand shook violently as she lifted her wine to her lips. The quiet club had very few patrons. Alice sat in the back, half leaning over her table, drowning herself in alcohol and cigarettes. Her second smoke had almost run out. The world spun every so often, the alcohol rushing through her system. 

Thirteen thousand Jews, dead. They'd died choking on acrid black smoke or burned alive, skin seared off where they stood. Some had gone down fighting. Others died screaming. Alice could almost hear the screams of the men, women, and children when she closed her eyes.

She lit a third cigarette, tossing the now dead second one to the ground. Her trembling hands flicked up the lighter. The small flame licked at the white cigarette. She paused. Thirteen thousand Jews, burned alive as Warsaw's ghettos had been razed.

The metal lighter clinked against the dark wood table as she dropped it. Sucking in the smoke, Alice willed her body to calm down. But her trembling didn't stop. She shot up from her seat, wobbling only for a moment. Alice fled the bar.

Her feet pounded across the grounds of Camp Mackall. Grass flattened under her boots. An ache had settled in her head. When she finally opened the door to her barracks, Alice went straight down the wooden aisle to her bunk.

"Hey, how was your afternoon without Sobel," Don asked her.

She didn't respond. Instead, Alice just dug around in her footlocker for her shower kit. Her head spun. Thirteen thousand dead. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on her dress uniform. It took effort to strip down just to her undershirt.

"Have fun?" added Gene, turning to her from his lower bunk.

"It was brilliant," she snapped back. Alice slammed the footlocker top closed. Her hand went to her temple as the noise echoed. "Brilliant."

Without sparing any of the men another glance, she stalked back down the aisle and out the door. When it slammed shut behind her, she paused. She considered going back in and asking for someone to stand watch while she showered. But she didn't have the energy.

When she got to the D, E, and F Company enlisted showers, Talbert and Sisk were just leaving. She huffed. "One of you make sure no one walks in on me." She didn't even wait for them to respond before walking inside the empty stalls.

She turned the water on and stripped. It fell cold all over her skin. The chill brought relief, a shock to her system. For a few minutes she stood silent, face under the stream. What did thirteen thousand people even look like? They'd been killed at Passover. But the angel of death hadn't passed over them in Warsaw.

Alice barely bothered to dry her hair before changing into her sleeping clothes. With the white shirt sticking to her damp skin, she ducked back outside where Talbert and Skinny both stood silent.

"Thank you." Alice nodded to them. She started back towards her barracks.

"Lieutenant?" Floyd Talbert's voice stopped her. He didn't offer his half salute. Instead he watched her carefully.

"What?"

"Are you ok?"

Alice turned back to them. Both Tab and Skinny looked at her in concern. She bit her lip. "I'll be fine."

They didn't look satisfied. But Alice didn't give them a chance to push further. She started back towards the Easy Company barracks, going a bit slower than her rampage from before. When her boots hit the steps up to her barracks, she took a deep breath and went inside.

Guarnere, Toye, and Luz stood together. Most of the rest of the men were back in the barracks as well, and they all turned at her entrance. Alice used her small washcloth to pat down her wavy hair as she moved to her bunk bed.

"Right, what happened today?" Joe asked. He folded his arms as she walked past him. 

"Drop it."

But Bill was having none of it. He snickered. "You're on a fucking rampage. Who pissed you off this time?"

Alice felt her body trembling again. With her back to most of the room, she tried to take a deep breath. Only Gene, lying on the lower bunk, could see her face as she stuffed her shower essentials into her footlocker.

"Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?"

Alice glanced at him, pulled out of her thoughts. What was wrong? Thirteen thousand Jews had been murdered, thirteen thousand men, women, and children wiped from the face of the Earth, burned alive until only black charred ash remained.

"Sweetheart-"

"Drop it, Sergeant!" Alice spun on Guarnere, seething.

As the members of the barracks stared at her in equal parts concern and surprise, Gene put down his rosary and stood up from his bunk. He eyed her carefully. "You're shaking."

What he said was true. She could feel her body trembling, and she couldn't control herself. Her breaths came short. But she just glared at him. "I said-"

"I heard what you said." Gene folded his arms over his chest. Matching her stare for a few moments, he pointed towards the door. "Walk." When she didn't move, he shook his head. "I got no issue goin' over yah head and getting Winters to order you to go with me to the aid station."

Alice felt her eyes widen in surprise. Clenching her jaw in fury, she gave him one last glare before striding down the barracks. Gene followed her close behind. They didn't speak until halfway to the aid station on Camp Mackall.

"What is wrong, Alice?" He looked at her closer. "Have you been drinking?"

"I had some," she snapped back.

Gene grabbed her arm and made her wait. She spun around as they stood in the middle of a field. He watched her carefully.

"You ain't acting normal, Alice." With a sigh, he softened his voice. "What's wrong?"

She hesitated. With a quick glance around, Alice tried to calm her breathing. She still couldn't stop her shaking. She looked at the stars. The stars had been a promise to her people. Then she looked back at Gene.

"Some intelligence information I had to work on was… unsettling." Alice folded her arms over her chest. Her heart hurt. "I may have had a bit too much to drink, and smoke."

"How much?" Gene looked at her eyes, and then took her pulse. 

"I think it was four glasses of wine and three cigarettes."

He muttered under his breath. Together they resumed their walk to the aid station. Gene didn't ask any more questions. When they got inside, he sat her down.

"I can't give you any meds cause of the alcohol," he explained. "Stay here." When Gene came back, he had a full canteen of water. "Drink it."

She sighed. But Alice obeyed his order, and she drank the splendidly cold water slowly. Gene watched her drink it. After nearly ten minutes of silence, he nodded.

"There. Now you ain't shaking."

Alice nodded. She took another drink of water. With a frown, she looked at him. "Sorry I snapped." 

Gene shrugged. "I can take it. Malarkey and Guarnere, on the other hand, that I don't know."

She glanced up at him. After a moment, he flashed her a small smile. She chuckled at his joke. They fell back into silence, and Gene moved away to refill her canteen. Once she had calmed down further, he nodded and said they could head back.

"Thanks," Alice muttered. 

Gene didn't respond at first. As they trudged back across Camp Mackall, he shrugged. "No more cigarettes tonight, Alice. And definitely no more wine." Then he paused before continuing. "I will go to Lieutenant Winters, if this happens again and you don't listen to me."

"I know you will."

Together they walked the few steps up into the barracks. Half an hour at least had passed, and the men had mostly fallen quiet, some sleeping and some playing poker. At their entrance, the ones still awake glanced over.

"Leave 'er alone," Gene said quickly. "She don't need you all bothering her."

Alice smirked, turning back to look at Gene. But he didn't reply. Instead, she just took off her boots and climbed up the ladder of her bunk. Beneath her, Gene Roe settled into his own cot.

After a good ten minutes of silence, in which a handful of the Easy Company boys started groaning over a large poker loss, Alice shifted in her cot. She sat up and looked down the room. Luz, Martin, Guarnere, Toye, and Randleman had set up two footlockers for the poker game. Martin had a rare smile on his face as he collected his winnings. She decided to climb down.

"One more round?" She stood behind George and Bill, looking down at where they had the cards flung all about. When they all looked at her warily, she huffed. "I won't court-martial you. I promise."

George scooted over. "If you've got money."

Alice scoffed. "I've got enough saved up to play a round."

"Cigarette?" 

Alice looked at the smoke that Guarnere offered her. She grimaced. "Gene might actually murder me if I take another one. Either that, or report me to Dick." But she glanced at Bill. "I appreciate the offer though."

"Long as you don't punch me, we're good, Lieutenant." Bill winked at her and smirked as she glanced at him.

"No punches. I promise."


	30. Chapter Thirty

Three days after she learned of the Warsaw massacre, Alice found herself crawling around in a remote area near Camp Mackall with Harry Welsh and First Platoon. For the first time since arriving in North Carolina, Easy Company had engaged in a large scale, multi day jump and set of maneuvers. Colonel Sink had Dog, Easy, and Fox Companies drop into three separate drop zones, their goal to capture a flag from one of the rival companies. Easy was going after Fox, Fox after Dog, and Dog after Easy. 

The jump had been in the evening, at dusk. It had gone well for Easy at least, and First Platoon quickly spent the night reaching their safe house and deploying their flag. Defending the position took equal attention as capturing Fox's flag.

Second and Third Platoons took responsibility for finding F Company. Sobel led both Dick and Second Lieutenant Moore in the field. Honestly, she figured they would've been better off without their CO. But, she and Harry got the good fortune of being with out Sobel for the remainder of the two days in the wilds of North Carolina so she didn't complain.

By the night after the drop, First Platoon had set up a decent defense perimeter around their tent and flag. Alice did her best to advise Harry, as the Lieutenant had only been around the men for a few weeks. Still, he knew exactly what he was doing, and everything went smoothly.

They had dug foxholes that afternoon, four feet deep, two people per. Alice thanked God that the rain they'd been rumored to encounter had passed without a drop. As Johnny Martin took charge for the next handful of hours, she sank down next to Harry.

"I will never live it down if Dog gets our flag," she muttered. With a yawn, she settled against the corner of the foxhole and closed her eyes.

"Yeah, why's that? Besides you not wanting to lose."

Alice smirked, her eyes still shut. "Lieutenant Speirs leads their Second Platoon. Unless their CO is as stupid as Sobel, he'll be leading the assault on our position. I can't lose to him."

Harry chuckled on the other side of the foxhole. "I haven't met him yet."

"He's quite a talking point among Easy," she said, voice low. "Back in Toccoa, a couple members of his platoon got drunk and caught me with a knife one night. Rumor is, Ron Speirs shot them." 

"That must've hurt."

"Hm." She hummed in agreement. "It wasn't pleasant, I'll tell you that much."

"Grab some sleep," Harry told her. "I'll wake you for your shift. We can't let Lieutenant Speirs take us by surprise because you're too exhausted."

Alice half chuckled. Thankful for the warm air of a night in early May, she tried to get as comfortable as possible in the foxhole. Around her, sounds of the forest lulled her to sleep.

Sticky blood against her hands, raging flames, and Bernadette's shrieking woke her up, gasping. Alice struggled to breathe, confused. The darkness around her did nothing for comfort. She threw her head back against the foxhole, helmet bouncing off a tree root. The fact that Harry Welsh watched her carefully didn't even register with Alice. She struggled to calm herself.

"Bad dream?" He broached the topic a few minutes later, once she'd calmed down a bit. Harry had settled back across from her in the foxhole, taking a drink from his canteen. He trusted Johnny Martin to be on guard with the others.

She shuffled uncomfortably, well aware that her hands shook as she unscrewed her own canteen. The water felt good on her parched throat. "Sorry." Alice hesitated, unsure of how much else to elaborate on. But the reminder she'd given herself nearly a year prior at Camp Toccoa rang in her ears. To earn trust you had to show trust. "I get them, occasionally. It's been awhile, though."

"Scared to go to war?"

Alice laughed. The noise cut through the relatively silent early morning. She shook her head. "I mean, sure. But that's not giving me nightmares. It's Europe that gives me nightmares. Home. All the reports out of the Western Front do is remind me how Hitler has stolen everything from my people."

She clambered up with her gun filled with blanks. Looking out into the forest, she tensed. The pine forests in Mackall felt a bit like the area of France she'd hid with the Maquis. She scanned the darkness around her.

Harry watched her carefully. "The French?" He joined her taking watching.

"The Jews."

They settled into silence. Alice didn't explain further, and to his credit, Harry let the obviously uncomfortable subject drop. No birds or even bugs made any noise as they stood surveying the forest. After a few minutes, Alice finally broke the tension.

"It's too quiet."

"You're right."

Alice readied her weapon. They each only had three blanks, to simulate running low on ammo and to avoid damaging the guns with too much gunk. Harry pulled himself out of the foxhole.

The forest didn't do much but tremble in the occasional breeze. She knew that to her left, Johnny Martin and Private Hoobler had dug in, and to her right, Bull Randleman with Private Blithe. 

Suddenly a shot rang out. Someone had fired a blank, and all her focus remained on locating the enemy that approached. She would not lose to D Company. Moments later, all hell broke loose as at least a platoon and a half of Dog Company crashed through the forest.

It didn't take long for them all to run out of fake bullets. About a dozen D company men lay on the ground, having been struck with the blanks, and were now out of the battle.

Suddenly, Alice heard movement behind her, near the tent with the flag. She hoisted herself out of the foxhole. Around her, she registered her men of First Platoon fighting hand to hand. She skidded to a halt right outside the blue tent and almost grinned when she realized who had been trying to steal their flag.

"Going somewhere?" She pushed herself into Ron's body, knocking him off balance.

But he reacted quickly and threw his own punch. Alice barely managed to dodge it. For a moment they tussled without either managing to get the upper hand. 

Alice swung. With practiced ease, Ron Speirs grabbed her throw and twisted her arm, holding it behind her back as she grunted in pain. Still, she had never been one to fight fair. Alice drove her heel into his groin, causing him to drop her. She scurried away from his grip. Her shoulder stung.

Ron recovered, and readjusted his stance. As they closed the distance again, he blocked a swing to his face. With a quick movement, as she managed to catch his jaw, he grabbed her and slammed her into the ground. Alice groaned in pain.

"Stay down," Ron insisted.

But she glared up at him. "No way am I losing to Dog."

Ron smirked back. He moved past her. Spinning onto her stomach, Alice grabbed his leg and pulled. He tripped briefly, giving her enough time to scramble up and tackle him. Her shoulder stung from Ron's attack earlier, though, and she couldn't do much more to him.

Ron spun and tackled her back. She heaved in deep breaths as he slammed her on her back again and held her down with a knee on her sternum. With a smirk, he made a pistol with his fingers and, ripping off her helmet, put it against her forehead.

He mimed pulling the trigger. "Now you're dead."

Alice glared but stayed down. As Ron stood off her body, he went to move towards the tent with the flag. But Harry's voice interrupted him.

"Bang. Now you're dead too, Lieutenant." 

Alice smiled in satisfaction up at the trees above her. A bit of light from the dawning sun cut across the sky. She could imagine how put out Ron looked. Moments later, Harry stood over her with his gap-toothed grin. 

"Now you've met Lieutenant Speirs," Alice said. Suddenly she heaved out a deep cough. Her chest still hurt from the full weight of Ron Speirs. Then she pushed herself up onto her side, leaning on one arm. The other Lieutenant in question had sunk to the ground nearby. "Hey, Ron."

"What," he snapped back. 

Alice did her best to suppress a smirk. "Second Lieutenant Ronald Speirs of D Company, Second Platoon, meet Second Lieutenant Harry Welsh of E Company, First Platoon."

Harry stood, helmet on a bit crooked and rifle in his hand. He turned to Ron and nodded. Ron huffed but nodded back.

"You took over for Nixon, then?" Ron looked him up and down. 

"Yep." Harry looked around. The battle had ended, with Easy Company coming out on top, successfully defending their flag. Then he turned back to them. "Right, you two dead weights need to get to the rally point." He held out a hand for Alice. As she took it, he heaved her up. 

Ron stood up from the ground too, grabbing his gun off the forest floor from where he'd dropped it when she'd first attacked him. As Alice strapped on her helmet, they walked with the other "dead" away from E Company's base. It didn't take long to find one of Major Strayer's runners, who then directed them to the rally point. Alice started organizing the Easy Company casualties, and Ron took over the ones from Dog Company.

They reached the rally point, a large field outside the forests, by just before lunch. Alice had walked most of the way keeping to herself after organizing First Platoon's dead. When they reached the large tent of Base Camp, she went to check in with Major Strayer, along with Ron Speirs.

They found the Major in the main tent, chatting with one of his aids. When they walked in, he glanced up. He dismissed the private. When they both saluted him, he returned it.

"Lieutenant Speirs, Lieutenant Klein." He walked over, grabbing a clipboard and pencil off a small table. "How many did you two lose?"

Ron gave the casualty numbers for Dog Company's two platoon assault team, first. He explained their plan, what they'd executed correctly, and what they'd done wrong. "Lieutenant Klein was able to delay me long enough for Lieutenant Welsh to shoot me."

Strayer looked over at her. "But he did kill you?"

"Yes sir, definitely."

He nodded, and continued making a few notes. After a moment, he glanced up at her again. "What were the casualty numbers for Easy's First Platoon?"

"We lost nine, including myself and Sergeant Martin." 

"Right." He scribbled a last note. "You're both dismissed."

They saluted, and then ducked out the tent flap. About seventy people roamed around the field. She recognized quite a few from Fox Company. Picking her way around the various lounging groups, Alice tried to locate anyone from Easy Company.

Eventually she saw some men of Second and Third Platoons. Talbert sat smoking on the ground, back against what looked like Luz. Near them, Liebgott, Alley, and Sisk played cards. Johnny Martin had found them as well.

"Ey, Lieutenant!" Talbert saluted her. He dug around in his pocket. Pulling out a cigarette, he held it out to her. "What took you out of the fight?"

Johnny answered for her. "She stopped Speirs from taking the flag." Sitting down with the ground, he pulled out a k ration.

"You fought Lieutenant Speirs?" Skinny looked up at her in surprise.

Alice chuckled. Before she could respond, George jumped in. "Remember, this is the woman who calls him by his first name! She has no fear."

Easing herself to the ground, Alice tried to massage her shoulder where Ron had twisted it. She smiled at them. Lighting the cigarette that Talbert had given her, she closed her eyes and let the smoke circulate through her.

For the next hour or so, Alice listened to the men of Second and Third talk about how Sobel's directions were doing. Apparently only Dick Winters fantastic knack for tactics managed to salvage Sobel's ineptitude at navigation and, well, everything else. Alice hadn't suspected much more.


	31. Chapter Thirty One

Easy Company completed the challenge, capturing F Company's flag and protecting their own. Casualty rates for Easy were high, though, and according to what the men told her, they'd only succeeded thanks to Winters and Welsh. Soon they returned to base for the weekend, taking buses back to Camp Mackall. 

Alice spent the majority of Saturday with the enlisted. One of the movie theaters on base showed Gone with the Wind. Alice and several men of all the platoons attended an afternoon showing. She enjoyed herself. The movie exhausted her, though, so she excused herself to grab a nap.

Unfortunately, it ended in screaming yet again. The massacre of Jews had played like a movie in her mind. Bernadette had been there. She had never seen Warsaw, but Paris took the place easily. Flames licked and enveloped rows of crying children, flaying them alive. Each victim had the yellow star of David sewn to their shirts, just as Paris' Jews had been forced to do. Of course, all that remained of them in her dreams were smoking carcasses of ash.

The stench of burning human flesh filled her nose as though it took place in reality. Alice couldn't stop herself from crying as she hid her face in her sheets. The empty barracks echoed with her sobs. Her body heaved until she couldn't cry anymore. All she could do was choke on her desperate attempts at breathing.

The rain that pounded the barracks slowed. Alice still couldn't control her breathing. As she clambered down from the top bunk to the floor, she slipped on her boots. A bottle of red wine she'd picked up on her last weekend in town lay stashed at the bottom of her foot locker. Alice dragged it out. She opened it with a pop.

As she downed a large drink straight from the bottle, she heard the men outside. Alice panicked. She was still crying. As they opened the front entrance, Alice slipped out the back door of the barracks. Only a light misting of rain hit her face as she sat on the wooden steps down. Alice leaned her face up towards the sky. The misting coated her skin. It calmed her down.

What did thirteen thousand people even look like? Alice downed another chug of the wine. The warmth in her body spread to her extremities. Her heartbeat calmed. She tried to push the nightmarish visual of children burning alive from her mind. Finally, she was tired of getting wet. With her breathing mostly under control, Alice ducked back into the barracks as quietly as she could.

A chorus of laughter echoed through the room as she snuck inside. Quite a few men of Easy lounged around: Talbert, Skinny, Lipton, George, Bill, Joe Toye, Bull, Johnny, Frank, Malarkey, Muck, Penkala, and Chuck Grant. Alice took another long drink of the wine. She ran a hand through her wet hair, watching the men playing poker or writing letters. They had their own stash of alcohol. 

Putting down the wine bottle, she took some clothes out of her footlocker and slipped to change from her wet fatigues. With the loose shirt and shorts on instead, she slipped off both her socks and shoes. She set them and her other clothes out to dry.

They still hadn't noticed her presence. Alice scooted up the ladder into her bunk and lay on her stomach. With her face propped up over her arms, she looked down at the men playing poker on the floor in the middle of the room.

"So, Welsh did good during the defense?" George asked the boys of First.

Johnny nodded. "He's smart. Got a good sense of tactics." Shuffling the deck of cards, he waited for Bull, the previous winner, to collect his money. "I like him."

"Not quite Winters," Bull added. "But ain't many people like Winters anyway."

They all seconded him. Johnny Martin dealt the cards. They decided on standard five card draw, nothing wild. After adding the antes, they looked at their starting hands. Malarkey sat to Johnny's left. He opened the betting.

By this point, the half bottle of wine Alice had drunk made her tired. She closed her eyes. Tears threatened to spill again as she thought about her family and Europe's Jews. So when George finally realized she was back, she decided to pretend to be asleep when he called up to her.

"Guess she's knocked out," George joked. He turned back to the poker game, letting out a deep breath of smoke from his cigarette. He handed over some of his cards. "I'll take two."

Johnny handed two new ones over. Next to George, Skip took three. Bull ended up taking three as well, and last went Talbert who took only one.

"Hey anyone know what set her off the other night?" Talbert studied his hand. He huffed. Looking up at the other men, he continued, "She looked about ready to murder someone."

"She almost killed ol Gonorrhea," Malarkey added.

"Ain't possible. She could try, but there's no way she'd take me down," Bill protested. "Come on, Malark, it's your bet."

"I heard she almost took out Lieutenant Speirs on the big maneuver," Skinny asked. He wasn't playing poker, but he sat reading just outside their circle, back against the body of a bunk and splayed out on the ground. 

Johnny Martin nodded. "I saw the end of that. Welsh ended up taking Speirs out when he was distracted by her."

"Why does she provoke him?" Toye muttered. "She's asking for trouble."

"Joe, c'mon. You know they're friends. God only knows why, though. No accountin' for taste." Bill folded when the bets came to him. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it while they continued on. "I'm with Tab, though. I wanna know what set her off."

"Doc's been mighty tight lipped about it," Skip added.

Bill nodded. "George, she ain't said anything to you?" 

As George added another three bucks to the pot, he shook his head. "Not a peep." He turned to his left. "Your bet, Skip."

"I'll match your three. But I call."

"She ain't said anything to anybody?" Bill looked around at the group playing poker and the men scattered around. "Lip, you've heard nothing?"

"Nothing."

"I bet it had something to do with her work with Intelligence," said Talbert. "After all, she worked with Regimental all day."

"Wouldn't the officers know, then? Lieutenant Nixon at least." Malarkey looked around at them. "Maybe we could ask? Nixon talks."

"Right, genius, and what happens if they don't know?" Bill snapped. "What happens if Sobel gets wind of it? Stupid Mick."

"Has anyone bothered to ask her since then?" Lipton suggested. He walked over from where he and Grant had been chatting. 

They all sat quiet for a moment. Only the puffs of cigarettes and swig of occasional drinks of the beer made any noise. Most eyes turned to George. He just shrugged.

Finally Johnny sighed. "Right. Call. What've you got?"

The men still in the game showed their hands. George won the round with a straight, king high. As he gathered up the bills, they returned to thinking.

"Do you think it had to do with her family?" Alex Penkala ventured. "Last time she got close to that upset it was her family."

"Her family's dead," Johnny objected.

"Yeah, not much more can happen," said Malarkey. "So it's gotta be something else."

Johnny nodded. He gathered up the cards again. Once they were in a deck, he passed them left to Malarkey. "Nobody's gotten war news?"

As Malarkey shuffled, they went back to quiet thinking. George grimaced and looked up at where Alice seemed to be sleeping. Then he turned back to the game as Malarkey dealt them all in again.

"In other news, I heard we're doing another jump maneuver on Monday," Penkala said. He scooted in between Toye and George, taking a hand of cards. "So, that's fun."

"If Sobel could go with First Platoon, that'd be nice," Joe Toye muttered. "I'm fucking sick of him breathing down Winters' neck."

Everyone in Second Platoon agreed, loudly. It made Alice open her eyes. She'd been drifting in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware they'd been talking about her but not sure who had said what. She pushed herself up off her stomach and rubbed her eyes. With another big gulp of wine, she tried to wake herself up.

"Hey look! She lives," George joked.

Alice didn't respond. Instead she crawled off her bunk and landed on the floor. She wobbled ever so slightly. The gazes of the men around her followed her. She leaned against the front of her bunk and watched them.

"How much have you had to drink?" Bill asked with a laugh. He folded again, standing from his place in the circle and picking his way over to her. 

Alice cringed. "Half a bottle of wine, I think, maybe more?"

"Jesus Christ, Alice, you're gonna hurt tomorrow," George joked. "What prompted the drinking? Tired of Sobel?"

She swayed for a moment. Glancing from George to the wall in front of her, she opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it. Finally she furrowed her brow. "What does thirteen thousand people look like?" She hesitated.

"I don't know? Like, the crowd at a baseball game maybe?" Malarkey shrugged. "I don't know."

"I can't even picture thirteen thousand people." Alice pushed off from the bunk bed pillar and moved back to find the wine bottle. She took another drink. Tossing the sealed bottle back onto her bunk bed, she moved back to them, only stumbling a little. 

"Why thirteen thousand?" Lipton asked after a moment. The boys had started the next round, but played more quietly. 

"Thirteen thousand Jews. Thirteen thousand, Lip." She muttered to herself in German, ending with a few choice curse words. 

"What happened to them?" He prompted.

Alice fumbled for a cigarette. Plopping it into her mouth, she pulled out her silver lighter. She flicked it open. The flame danced in front of her, six inches from her face. It was a yellow orange, calm, controlled.

"The Nazis burned alive thirteen thousand Jews and razed their homes to the ground in Warsaw. A complete massacre." She continued to look at the flame. "Thirteen thousand. Thirteen thousand!" Alice flicked it closed. She turned to Lipton, swaying slightly, and steadied herself. "How is that even possible? Thirteen thousand!" She threw her still unlit cigarette back onto the bed behind her. Her chest began to ache. "And what does your fucking president do about it? Or Churchill? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The Jews and the Poles and whoever else the Nazis don't like are being slaughtered, and they can't open their borders to refugees. The Bermuda Conference was a complete joke."

Alice sat herself down on Gene's bunk and shook her head. Blood pounded in her ears. The alcohol made her feel sick, and she grabbed her forehead. Thirteen thousand Jews. She vaguely noticed Lipton grabbing the wine bottle off her top bunk and pass it to someone, but she didn't care. She knew if she had more wine, that Gene would hear about it. And the last thing she needed was to be lectured by her medic friend.

Lipton crouched down in front of her as she held her head in her hands. "Get your shower stuff. I'll watch the area while you relax. And no more wine. Or cigarettes."

"Don't tell Gene," she whined, still not raising her head. Alice frowned into her hands. 

Lipton cracked a smile. "Unless we run into Doc, I won't tell him if you don't. Come on." He plopped her boots down in front of her. Standing back, he eyed her carefully. "Can you do them yourself?"

"I'm drunk, Lip, but I'm not that drunk," she muttered. Alice reached down and started fumbling with the laces. It took longer than usual, but eventually she had her boots on and shower kit and towel in hand.

Lipton guided her out the nearby back door so she didn't have to pick her way through the poker game. He didn't comment when she sunk to her knees and started throwing up. She didn't have much on her stomach other than the wine, so it mostly came in dry heaves. He just placed a hand on her back.

"I think." A cough cut her off, and she spit out more biles. "Ugh. I think I drank too much, Lip."

He shook his head, trying not to smile. "Yeah, you did."

"Stupid," she muttered. With trembling hands, she undid the top of her canteen. She rinsed out her mouth and spit the water back out.

"Come on, Alice. Showers." 

Lipton helped hoist her off the ground. They made their way to the showers again, and all Alice could think of was how horrible she felt. Her body ached, her eyes drooped, her stomach roiled. She would never, ever, drink that much again.


	32. Chapter Thirty Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a bit of a shout-out to my Virginian boys of Easy. Represent! Turns out, Sergeant Sisk was born not twenty minutes from where I grew up. Of course, back then, it was all rural. These days it's just a DC suburb haha.

May came and went, June ended, and Alice had stayed true to her promise to herself. She hadn't even approached the level of intoxication she'd reached the night Lipton had to help her. Somehow, she wasn't exactly sure, word never seemed to get around to either the officers or Gene. Alice certainly didn't complain.

By the time July started passing by, she figured they must've done fifty jumps. The 506th had recently become an official part of the 101st Airborne Division in June, and since then, jump practice had somehow managed to only increase. Between jumps and maneuvers, the men and officers increased time in tactical lectures and lessons too. Usually they didn't have time for partying as they got up so early and off so late that thoughts of alcohol vanished from their minds.

Her fondest moments during the brutally packed days were usually at the very end of the night. Alice had started making it a habit to smoke a cigarette on the steps of their barracks. Nearly every night, someone joined her. More often than not, it included some combination of George, Lieb, Bill, Talbert, or Toye. Sometimes it was more than one, sometimes it was none of them. Alice noticed that Gene only joined her when the others didn't. Some days, people she rarely expected ended up next to her on the grass outside their barracks. Skinny and Shifty started joining her some days. Hoobs and Blithe did so on occasion.

Depending on who joined her, she approached it differently. The talkative ones like George or Bill could go on and on without any sort of prompting. She didn't mind at all. But she almost enjoyed nights with the quieter ones more. 

Skinny and Shifty would sometimes talk to her about their homes in Virginia. Apparently, they came from opposite ends of the state. Skinny came from a town called Herndon, up in the northern part of Virginia. Shifty grew up in the south western end of the state, though he also liked to talk about the area of Norfolk where he and Popeye had both met and worked before joining the war effort. According to him, the Tidewater area of Virginia, where Norfolk lay, had beautiful beaches and good places to go boating.

The discussion would usually turn to her at some point. Shifty especially always made sure to ask her about her home, too. What had she loved about France the most, or Germany? Alice liked to talk about the area of Provence, or the Côte d'Azur. Thinking of Paris had become too painful in the months she'd been with Easy, but her family had traveled often during their first years after moving to France.

Some days, if none of the enlisted made to join her, Alice would find the other Lieutenants. Harry Welsh, often the easiest to locate, joined her more often than not. Over the course of the two months he'd been with Easy, they'd shared smokes before bed semi frequently. Alice ended up opening up about Toccoa, and her time training there. She even told Harry about her family after a while, deciding he'd hear about it from somewhere eventually. For his part, Harry talked about home too. Most frequently, he brought up his sweetheart and fiancée, Kitty Grogan. Alice couldn't help but smile when he talked about her. With Harry present, Skip Muck no longer was the only man of Easy completely smitten by a dame back home. He also told her about his time with the 82nd, where he'd been demoted and promoted more times than he could count for fighting. 

Sometimes, Dick would join them just for the company. Both Nixon and Ron were hard to track down, as they both ran on different schedules than Easy Company. But when she could, Alice sought them both out. The stress levels in Camp Mackall steadily increased the whole summer. Any idiot could see that the inevitable invasion inched closer and closer each day. She tried to use her evening smoking break as a way to calm not only herself, but the men around her.

Avoiding Captain Sobel actually became easier by the day, when it came to time not spent in maneuvers. Even then, it seemed that Sobel preferred to work with Second Platoon, so she hopped over to First with Harry whenever possible. Alice guessed Sobel enjoyed making Dick Winters as miserable as possible; even Sobel must've been able to see how much more fit for command Dick was compared to him. By hooking up with his platoon, Sobel made sure Dick couldn't flourish in command. Alice watched him grow more and more frustrated with their Commanding Officer by the day.

Still, after each day's maneuvers or lessons ended, she loved just sitting outside in an army issue tank top and paratrooper pants, letting her hair dry from her shower while she smoked a cigarette or two. The darkness of the summer night offered cool relief from the high temperatures of the day time. Georgia had been worse, but North Carolina still had humidity and heat every single day. But the evening, it became barrable. 

As she settled down for her nightly cigarette on a Thursday at the very end of July, Alice cleared her head. A light shined above the barracks door she sat under. She closed her eyes. Crickets chorused all around her. She could make out several voices around her, none from Easy. At 2230 hours, a good number of paratroopers still roamed about.

Fox and Dog Companies largely ignored Alice's presence. They'd gotten used to her. In Camp Mackall, though, so many different regiments, not just companies, trained together. As such, Alice did her best to stay near the 506th and specifically the trio of companies she hung around with most, whenever night fell. 

The sound of nearby footsteps made her open her eyes. As she did so, a slightly stronger breeze than she'd been expecting blew from the south, sending her still-damp hair into her face. She'd gotten it cut just a few days ago. It brought great relief to have it back to the proper length, just above her shoulders.

Floyd Talbert approached her. He wore only a tan 506th Paratroopers tee shirt, tight around his body, and paratrooper pants. With a grin, he lit a cigarette and settled down with a huff in the grass just adjacent and in front of her.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Alice smiled and looked down at him. He had settled into his back, smoke puffing with each breath. She just chuckled. "I'm here every night, Tab."

"Except when you ditch us for the Lieutenants."

"I'm allowed to have more friends than just you people," she replied. A smirk tugged at her lips. She stopped resisting. "I know it's hard for you to accept you aren't my entire life, Tab."

He laughed. "Ouch."

"Besides," she said, "George would outrank you anyways."

Talbert choked on his cigarette. Laughing again, he shook his head as best he could in the grass. "What did that jokester do that I didn't?"

Alice just hummed to herself in contemplation. She shook her own head with a small smile. Not responding, she found herself yawning. 

"Who's better company, us or the officers?"

"Depends what I'm looking for," she answered immediately. Alice wasn't sure why she decided to play along with Talbert's poking and prodding. But she did. "You're all good for different things."

"Yeah?"

"Yep."

Talbert didn't say anything more for several long moments. He just drew in the smoke of his cigarette, held it, and released. Alice did the same. The crickets and cicadas continued to serenade them in the background.

Newly approaching footsteps caused Talbert to sit up, and both of them to glance forward. To their surprise, Dick, Nixon, and Harry all strolled over. Nixon drank from his flask. Talbert hauled himself to his feet and saluted.

"Evening, sirs," he said with a nod. 

"At ease, Tab." Dick nodded to him with a small smile. Then he turned to Alice. "Lieutenant, can we borrow you for a minute?"

She nodded. Standing from the pale wooden step of the barracks, she tossed her nearly finished cigarette and stomped it out. Alice followed them a little ways away, leaving Talbert sitting on the ground.

"Not often I see all three of you at once," she half joked. Alice folded her bare arms across her chest. "What's wrong?"

Nixon took a deep breath. "Thought you'd want to know; _Operation Gomorrah_ was confirmed about an hour ago."

A deep sigh betrayed all her emotions. "The outcome?"

"Intelligence estimates between thirty and forty thousand dead. Maybe another hundred thousand wounded."

Alice swayed ever so slightly as she stood, shocked. That meant the Allies had successfully bombed nearly the entire city of Hamburg. Her city. Her home. The air raids had begun seven nights ago, but the Allied intelligence had maintained strict silence.

"Most of the city burned to the ground from a firestorm on the fourth night ," Nixon added. "There's not much left. But it did heavy damage to the arms production in the city. Intelligence thinks this could help turn the war."

"Sodom and Gomorrah," she muttered. Alice shook her head. "Hamburg had more innocents than Sodom and Gomorrah."

"An unfortunate reality of war," Harry agreed.

She nodded. Alice fell quiet for a moment. "If you'll excuse me."

Both Dick and Harry moved away quietly. But Nixon stayed behind for a moment. He watched her carefully. "Don't do anything stupid."

Alice huffed. But she nodded. Glancing back at where Talbert had laid down again, she shrugged. Her shoulders sagged in defeat.

"You know where to find me if you want good drinks," he said after a moment. He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "I'm serious."

"Yeah, yeah I know." Alice forced a small smile at him. "I'll be ok."

"If you're going to get drunk, don't do it alone."

Alice glanced up at him in surprise. He smirked back at her and took another drink from his silver flask. She narrowed her eyes.

"I know things, remember? That's my job. Lipton didn't tell me." 

She rolled her eyes. Then she eyed him closer. He had deep rings under his eyes and looked a lot more tense than usual. "Go to bed. You look exhausted, Nix."

He laughed. "I will. I will. Same goes for you though, too."

"I will." Then she looked back at Talbert. "In a bit."

They both said goodnight, and Nixon went in the direction of Battalion's officer barracks. With a deep breath to calm her nerves, Alice returned to the step into the barracks. She pulled out a second Lucky Strike.

"Two tonight, Lieutenant?" asked Talbert with a grin. But his expression dropped when he noticed her stress. "What did they want?" He pushed himself up to sit facing her, one leg propped out.

She frowned. "War news."

"Nothing good, I take it?"

"Depends on what you think good is." Alice sighed, shrugging. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and turned to Talbert. "Definitely a good outcome for the Allies. But it involved a lot of civilian casualties."

"Ah."

"Don't worry about it too much," she assured him. 

"Are you worried?"

Alice didn't respond immediately. With a deep breath of the tobacco smoke, she closed her eyes. Hamburg filled her mind. Finally she spoke again, releasing both the images of her birth city and the smoke. "Worried? No. Sad? Yeah. Yeah I am." A long pause followed. Then she looked over at him. They met each other's gaze. "I'm just eager to get back to Europe."

"What happens if the 101st doesn't get sent to Europe?" Tab asked a minute later.

"Then I jump with another company." Alice frowned to herself. "I'm no use to the army in the Pacific Theater."

They fell into silence after that. Both Paratroopers spent time finishing up their cigarettes. Afterwards, Alice glanced at her watch and saw it was just past 2300. With a sad smile, she stood up and said goodnight. When she climbed up into the bunk above Gene, relief flooded over her. Even the scratchy blanket felt good after a long day.


	33. Chapter Thirty Three

If such things were actually visible, Alice knew the entire company would've been able to see steam coming out of her ears, so furious was she. Not twenty-four hours before they were set to leave Camp Mackall, and Sobel had managed to screw up the largest, most important maneuver of any of the wargames they had played all summer. They'd come out with a ninety-five percent casualty rate. Easy had been disgraced.

Now, in the afternoon of a Wednesday in early September, they were finished. The army had decided the 101st Airborne looked good enough for combat. Or, good enough to move to the next, at least. Alice knew their destination; New York City, then boarding a troop ship, and sailing across the Atlantic to England. If it hadn't been for her fury with Sobel's incompetence, she would've been in high spirits. After all, with Easy heading to England, she didn't have to worry about them being sent to the Pacific. If they'd been sent East, she would've had to join a new Company in a new Division of paratroopers destined for the Western Front.

As Alice hauled her large duffle bag towards the row of trucks, she tried not to let her fury show on her face. In the distance she could hear Sobel's snapping voice. Over the past few months in Camp Mackall, she and Sobel had come to a sort of stalemate where neither particularly wanted to see the other. Given her place in Colonel Sink's good graces, he couldn't do too much to get in her way other than leaving her as a casualty on every maneuver she accompanied him on. She hoped to avoid him even further.

The truck ride to the train they'd be taking didn't last long. She had ridden with the officers of Easy, Dog, and Fox. Once they reached the station, she let her bag get stowed and boarded the train.

She, Dick, and Harry found a quiet end of a train car, good for four people. To her annoyance, Harry grabbed the window. He just winked at her, so she decided to abandon them for the enlisted.

"Sure you won't join us?" Dick asked.

Alice shook her head. "Not right now. If I can't find a good spot with Easy, I may come back. I want to check in on them. Save me a seat, though."

Large windows lined the train cars, letting in a flood of natural light. Men crowded every inch of the train. She passed by a handful of Dog Company men and nodded to them. They returned the gesture. She found it almost funny that a little over a year ago, D Company had hated her guts. Now they accepted her presence.

She ran into some men of Easy's Third Platoon, but they were so busy chatting they didn't even notice her. The train still hadn't started moving. She just kept going. Two train cars later, she heard Second Platoon before even seeing them.

"My money's on England," Malarkey proclaimed. He picked his way over Skip's legs to reach the inner seat along the window. "I think we get to see the Limeys."

"I'd rather be an England than somewhere like frickin' North Africa, that's for sure," Bill chirped back. He sat on a seat face into the train car, sandwiched between Toye on his right and Johnny and Bull on his left. A cigarette dangled from his mouth.

George, across the car on the other inward facing seats, just shrugged. "Anything's better than the pacific. Those islands are too hot." He offered a cigarette to Lipton at his right, but the man declined. He lit his own. 

"I wonder if English broads dance as good as ours," Bill added. "Or maybe do a bit more than dancing. Who don't love a man in uniform?"

The men laughed at his insinuation. Alice just kept leaning in the door of the car, watching them in amusement. While the flirts had never fully stopped with the men in Easy, they'd certainly toned it back. She had first noticed it when they left Toccoa, and started training around other regiments. At Mackall, there were so many people not from the 506th that they'd mostly dropped anything that could be seen as demeaning to her. She'd been extremely impressed with them, once she'd noticed. It seemed to be an unspoken rule that if anyone not from Easy was around, Alice got treated as the superior officer she was.

As such, it made her laugh whenever she saw the men drooling over women. Thoughts of sex and a good time never even crossed her mind anymore, too preoccupied with fear for Europe. But the brash American soldiers, now faced with a new land of women to conquer, seemed to suddenly remember they'd not had sex in ages. Alice just hoped they'd be responsible.

"And if we aren't going to England?" Joe Toye asked.

Bill shrugged. "There are broads all over the world."

"We're going to England, I'm sure of it," Malarkey argued again. "Alice is still with us, isn't she? She's only gonna jump into Europe."

They fell quiet for a moment. Alice seized the opportunity to make her presence known. "How are you all doing back here?"

"Ey there's our favorite officer," George joked. He moved a random pack of a seat near him. "You joining us on the trip? Thought you ditched us for the Lieutenants?"

She moved through the car and plopped down next to George. In order to see out the window, she sat sideways on the seat, facing George and the front of the train car. "Lieutenant Welsh took the window seat. I figured I'd come find one down here."

As they started heckling her, the train began to move. For a brief moment, the discussions stopped. Everyone looked out the window to watch North Carolina speed away. Alice felt herself trembling. Her body couldn't seem to decide if she felt excited or terrified. She knew they were headed for England. One step closer to France.

The men started chatting again. Alice mostly stayed out of the conversations. Instead, she watched the plains and hills and forests speed by outside the windows.

An hour into the long train ride, she became distracted by the sudden hush that had fallen over her train car. She looked away from the window. Ron Speirs had entered the car, digging through his cigarette pack. He made his way over to her, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that Easy Company's men had lowered their voices.

"Hey, Klein, you seen Lieutenant Nixon?"

She shook her head. "Sorry. What do you need him for?"

He handed her a cigarette. "Lieutenant Meehan up in Baker said Battalion's looking for him. Thought I'd pass that along if I found him."

"Winters and Welsh are about five cars up. I'd check there. Nix is never far from Dick when he has the choice," she teased. Pulling out her lighter, she lit the cigarette Ron had given her. At the mention of Harry, she saw him immediately straighten. Her grin reached all the way to her eyes. "Are you still upset about the wargames? Don't hold it against Harry. He beat you fair and square."

Ron glared down at her. "I'm not."

"Whatever you say."

But his expression suddenly changed. He smirked at her, grin too big to suppress. "Why would I be upset over that maneuver? You're forgetting something, I think."

"Yeah? What am I forgetting?"

"I killed you first." With another smirk, he picked his way through the rest of the cabin and disappeared down the next car.

Alice couldn't wipe the smirk off her face to even feign indignance. Only after a moment did she realize the entirety of the men of Easy in her train car were staring at her. "What?"

"Did Lieutenant Speirs smile?" George looked at her and then down the next car at his fading form. It made Lipton laugh on his other side. But the other seemed completely in agreement.

"Lieutenant Speirs is crazy," Bill declared. "Anybody can see that."

"What?" Alice almost cackled at his statement. "He just wants you to think that."

"Fucking insane. Like all of Dog Company," Toye muttered. He pulled out a cigarette for himself. 

"Whatever you say, boys. Whatever you say."

She let them fall back into small conversations. Before long, she pulled out her well loved copy of Les Miserables and began to read. The French eased her mind as she let herself fall into one of her two birth languages. 

Hours passed. Lunch was served, sandwiches that bad been made for the men in preparation for the trip. At some point, Alice took a nap against the window. The click-clack of the train wheels and steady hum of the men's conversations lulled her to sleep despite her stress and excitement. When she woke up later, the sun had dipped below the treeline around them and only a few streaks of pinks and purples painted the sky.

Some of the men had fallen asleep as well. Others jotted down notes in journals or wrote letters to send off before getting on the troop ship that inevitably awaited them. Most of the conversations had died, though Lip and George still chatted quietly about various matters. As she looked around, Alice debated what to do.

"I'm going to find the officers again," she said to George and Lip. "Save my seat. I may come back."

"Alice, everytime you leave it breaks my heart. Quit it," George joked. But he didn't hesitate to put his coat on the seat she vacated. "Don't let Speirs kill you again."

"Ha, ha."

Moving while the train zipped up the East Coast took a bit more effort than when it had been stationary. She passed back through the various cars, saying a quick hello to the boys of First Platoon she spent time with. Back through Dog Company, and even past a few men from Fox, she picked her way carefully.

When she reached the spot she'd left Harry and Dick, she smiled. Harry had fallen asleep against the window, but Dick worked on writing a letter in what little light his small overhead bulb gave. Across from him, Nixon sat reading to the same light. She slipped over to them. Both Dick and Nix looked up.

"Get bored of the enlisted?" Nixon asked, cheeky grin on his face.

She shook her head. "Just wanted to take a walk. Figured I'd check in with you. I see Harry's enjoying his beauty rest."

"'S not beauty rest, Alice. That would imply I'm ever not beautiful," he said, eyes still closed. 

Alice, Dick, and Nixon all laughed. Confident that the small Irishman was awake, she spoke to him directly. "In that case, put your feet off the bench and let me sit, Harry."

He groaned in annoyance, but pulled his feet off the free chair in their four person sitting area. She clambered over Nixon and plopped down on the window seat across from Harry. With a smirk, she watched him push up in the seat.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"2030 hours."

"Great. Nixon, pass me your flask."

To her surprise, he did as asked. Harry downed a quick drink of Vat 69 and nodded his thanks. He passed the silver flask back. Though Nixon offered her a sip, Alice declined.

"Only another eight hours to go," she muttered. Alice pushed herself into the corner as best she could. As she lay her head against the train car, she listened to the movements of the wheels.

While the other three eventually all got to work writing letters, Alice sat quietly. She had no one to write to. To pass the time, she started humming to herself. At first she didn't even realize she had started singing La Vie en Rose under her breath. She just played with her hair, trying to untangle it as best she could, and wove the melody around them in an effort to placate her nerves. Since no one commented, it didn't even occur to her that was what she was doing. 

While she sang, she started braiding bits of her hair. She leaned against the window still, watching as the stars shined down from above. At some point, her song faltered, as she tried to pray. Prayer didn't come easy to her anymore. While she knew God not to be the source of the evil in the world, part of her wondered why he continued to punish his Chosen People. Or, why he continued to allow them to be punished.

Soon, she fell asleep again, closing her eyes after trying to peer through the reflection of herself in the window. After she'd drifted off, Harry turned to the other two. He looked up from his letter.

"Never knew she could sing."

Dick smirked. "Yeah, she mentioned a few times that her whole family was musically inclined. Her sister was a dancer, and her mother a pianist."

"So you've heard her sing?"

Nixon nodded. He took another sip of Vat 69. "I don't think there's a member of Easy who hasn't. She used to sing during Toccoa training to keep the men from killing Sobel."

"She's hasn't done it much recently, though," Dick commented. He shrugged. "I don't know why."

Harry yawned and nodded. "Well, I am certainly more impressed with her than I expected to be when I found out I'd be working with the only woman in the Army. Even if she doesn't officially exist."

"Yeah, I think we all are," agreed Nixon. He looked at her, sleeping peacefully against the wood and glass of the train car. 

Harry angled himself more towards the group. He backed against the window. Putting his pencil down, he looked from her to them. "Be honest. Did you two think she'd make it?"

Neither one answered right away. Nixon took another drink. After a few moments, Dick broke the silence.

"At first?" He also put down his pencil. "I don't know. We knew she'd been in training in England, and we knew she'd been in the Maquis. So she had to have been competent."

"Honestly I was less concerned about her physicality after she showed up most of the men on day one," Nixon admitted. "The harder part for her was fitting in."

Harry nodded. "They didn't like her?"

Dick sighed. "Well, some didn't mind her. But mostly it was a matter of no one really knowing what to do with her presence."

"Including Alice herself," Nixon added.

Dick nodded immediately. "Her being German made matters worse. No one's called her a Nazi in awhile, since we mostly only see Dog and Fox. But in the early days of Toccoa, men in Easy and the rest of the 506th saw German and said Nazi."

Nixon agreed. "At this point, Dog and Fox are used to her being around. But they hated her. A couple of guys from Dog almost killed her when they got Drunk."

"Yeah, she mentioned something about that." Harry sat up straighter. "What happened? I've heard lots of rumors."

Nixon laughed. "About Speirs?" When Harry nodded, he smirked at Dick. Then he turned back. "The men were court-martialed."

"So he didn't shoot them?"

Dick let out a small laugh. "No. They were convicted of assault on a superior officer."

"And Speirs just lets everyone think he killed them?"

Nixon laughed and nodded. "Yep." He took a drink. "Don't go spreading the truth now, either. It's too entertaining to watch the enlisted squirm."

They fell into quiet conversation. Harry knew some about Alice after spending nights sharing smokes, but he found he got answers from them to questions he hadn't been willing to ask her to her face. He asked a lot about her Maquis activities. Nixon knew more than anyone, having done some snooping around into her files after being promoted to Battalion Intelligence. As the hours dragged on, they finally finished their letters and turned to sleep. Only another five hours before they'd reach New York. And once they reached New York, it'd be onward to England.


	34. Chapter Thirty Four

  
**September 6, 1943**

_RMS Samaria, Troopship_

It took hours for the whole ship to fill. Alice had been flanked by Easy's enlisted, more out of orders to keep her female nature hidden than anything else. As they slowly moved into the ship, she shuffled. Most annoying was the blasted white life jacket around her neck. The ship she'd taken from England hadn't been nearly as packed, but in the Samaria, the life jacket just served to make squeezing between people that much more difficult.

The belly of the Samaria crawled with soldiers. Bunks, two deep and seven high, lined the compartments. Easy made their way to the space designated for them, right in the center. Alice watched in silent amusement as some of her fellow Easy members attempted, poorly, to find their sea legs.

Second Platoon started claiming bunks. Guarnere, Malarkey, and Toye all grabbed ones at floor level. Alice huffed, but decided to pull herself up to the fifth level of bunks, taking the outer bunk, closer to the center of the boat. George took the bed beneath her, and she pulled Gene next to her. Behind her head, Liebgott settled himself.

"These aren't that uncomfortable," Alice said. She shifted in the bunk which was made of little more than canvas suspended between four steel poles. A small pillow squished beneath her head. "Gene?"

He turned to her. "Not too bad. I'll take this over sleeping outside any day."

She hummed in agreement. The bunks around them had mostly emptied as the men crowded onto deck as much as they could to catch last glimpses of America as they shipped out. But Alice didn't care that much. In fact, she felt herself trembling from excitement that they left at last. France seemed tantalizingly close now.

She lay down in her bunk. Beside her, she could tell Gene said a rosary. Letting herself relax and feel the rhythm of the waves, Alice just stayed quiet and still. After about half an hour, Alice pulled out a cigarette for herself.

Almost immediately, men began to fill the bunks again. Liebgott came back first, hoisting himself up to her level. He looked tired. The others followed him. Before long, the ship had so many men stuffed in one place that the noise just continued to climb. Alice sighed. She tried to focus on her cigarette.

She felt and heard, rather than saw, Liebgott sit up behind her. Rolling over into her stomach, Alice put her head over her arms and pillow. She watched Liebgott carefully. He yawned.

"Excited to go to Europe?" Alice asked him.

He looked over at her. With a quick wink, he smiled. "Hopefully there are fun times to be had in England."

Alice chuckled. "Yeah, so you all keep saying. Don't forget, we're in a war, Lieb."

"Don't I fuckin' know it."

With another laugh, she pulled herself up so she dangled her feet off the side. Below them, she watched as Skip and Malarkey shouldered their way through the extremely tight walking space. It had only been a few hours, but already it felt like everyone was getting restless. She noted that Skinny sat on a ground level cot talking with someone she couldn't see. Christenson's voice floated up to her from below.

Loudest of all, as per usual, Guarnere complained about something. Alice watched him smoking in his cot, Joe Toye nearby. Toye flashed a large pocket knife. He said something about Joe Toye Day. Overly amused, Alice decided to try to follow the conversation.

"Point is, it don't matter where we go. Once we get into combat, the only person you can trust is yourself and the fella next to you." 

Guarnere lay on his back, cigarette between his fingers. Alice saw in amusement that he'd shed his life jacket. She watched as Joe Toye rolled onto his stomach to face Bill.

"Long as he's a paratrooper," Joe said, cryptically. 

"Oh yeah?" George Luz, seemingly coming out of nowhere, started clambering his way up the bunks. When he reached the fourth level, he rolled into the one he'd claimed, just below Alice. "What if that paratrooper turns out to be Sobel."

Scowling, Alice agreed as someone she couldnt see, maybe Christenson, declared he'd not stay near Sobel. He'd go find Winters or Heyliger, two well respected officers.

But Bill just scoffed. "I like Winters, he's a good man. But when the bullets start flying, I don't know if I want a Quaker doing my fightin' for me." 

Alice watched him roll out of his bunk. He stretched his arms. As much as she loved Wild Bill for his big mouth and antics, she felt a pit form in her stomach every time he started using religious language.

"How do you know he's a Quaker?" Smokey asked.

"He ain't Catholic." Plopping his cigarette back in his mouth, Bill acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

Smokey let out a light laugh. "Neither's Sobel."

With a scoff, Bill shook his head. "That prick's a Son of Abraham."

The effect was immediate. Alice felt herself tense, physically flinching back at the slur. In her head, she knew Bill didn't mean to be offensive with his language, but suddenly memories of yellow Star of David patches and shattered store windows filled her mind. It took her a moment to remember she wasn't the only Jew there, though.

Liebgott took the cigarette he'd been smoking out of his mouth. Biting his cheek, he turned to the conversation. "He's what?" He sounded more incredulous than angry.

Bill looked at him. "He's a Jew," he spelled out. 

Liebgott's mood changed immediately. With muttered expletives, he threw down his cigarette and landed on top of it. Still hurt by Bill's flippant slurs, Alice didn't move to do anything. But slowly anger replaced shock as the scene unfolded. 

Liebgott moved right in front of Guarnere. With a snarl he looked down at him. The whole area of Easy Company men had turned to watch what would happen. Lieb and Bill were the two least disciplined when it came to fighting. They knew it would only end one way, as neither of them would want to back down.

"I'm a Jew."

"Congratulations. Now get your nose outta my face." Bill pushed Liebgott away slowly with a single finger. He looked him up and down, unimpressed.

Liebgott threw the first punch. Expecting it, Bill blocked his arm and grabbed at him, trying to force him to the ground. The men that hurried to pull them apart were met with punches too, so they let go. 

Alice watched, fury blazing inside her. Bill crossed a line, for sure, but Liebgott knew better than to attack him for it. They had been complaining about Sobel, not Judaism. She'd be sure to have a long talk with Bill over anti-semetic slurs. But first, she needed them to quit.

Leaping down from her bunk, Alice landed flat on her feet. The boys still tussled, neither able to effectively pummel the other as much as they wanted to. Smokey Gordon, Joe Toye, and Malarkey all tried to pull them apart. Smokey got a punch in the gut for it.

"Hey!" Alice snapped. She pulled Malarkey back. "Liebgott! Stop." She yanked him away by the collar. "Toye, grab Guarnere."

As she hauled Liebgott away from Bill, he spat at the floor. Fortunately he had enough sense not to swing at Alice. As Malarkey and Toye restrained Bill, she moved in between them.

"Guarnere! Watch your fucking mouth," she snapped, pointing at him. Then she rounded on Liebgott. "You, need to calm down. Guarnere's an idiot when it comes to not crossing lines. You know that. This isn't the hill to die on when it comes to our faith." She held Liebgott's gaze a moment longer. "Walk away, Lieb. Let me handle this."

He snarled, looking between Guarnere, the others, and finally Alice. But he turned and started climbing back up the bunks. Alice turned back to Guarnere, where he stood panting in anger.

But Bill's adrenaline pumped through him, and he hadn't had enough. "Fucking Jewboy. Goddamn Mocky defending Sobel."

Alice froze and glanced up at Liebgott. Her back to Bill Guarnere, she felt her body trembling. Now his words were more than stupid ways to stir the pot. Now, he used the slur to hurt them. All her anger coursed through her. She remembered the thirteen thousand Jews massacred at Warsaw. She remembered the Jews forced to wear Star of David patches in mockery and hate. She remembered Robert, and Marc, murdered for standing up against the regime that hated her people. She remembered her parents, and she remembered her sister. Their lives ended for their mere existence as Jews.

Turning to Guarnere, she stepped closer to him. He looked at her, refusing to back down. Alice didn't even hesitate before swinging her right arm straight into his face. Her fist met his nose with a crack. He crumpled back, shouting as he grabbed at his now bloody face. 

To their credit, none of the men commented. She could feel them all watching her. She'd never struck any of them before, no matter how irritated, or drunk, or depressed she'd gotten. Bill watched her as close as the others. Alice hoped he could see just how disappointed in him she felt. 

They stood in silence for what seemed like a long time. Finally Guarnere turned away, and Alice looked at the still-shocked audience. "Where's Doc?"

George replied after a moment. "He's up on deck giving out sea sickness pills."

Alice nodded to him. She grabbed Bill Guarnere's sleeve and hauled him after her. They stayed silent. As they forced their way through the mass of soldiers, her body still trembled. She used her arms to shoulder the taller men out of the way until at last they came to the way up on deck. Alice found Doc examining Talbert, with Shifty, Johnny, and Alex Penkala all sitting there looking a little worse for wear.

"What the hell happened to you," Johnny said. He narrowed his eyes at Bill's bleeding nose. 

Bill glanced at Alice. She glared at him, and he said nothing. Gene finished giving Talbert sea sickness pills. With a quick look at Guarnere, he shook his head. Gene had him sit next to Johnny. 

"Have an argument with a floor or somethin', Guarnere?" Gene attempted to joke. He fished through his bag for bandages to soak up the blood.

"No," Alice answered. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at Bill again. "I punched him."

"What?" Despite his seasickness, Talbert still looked over in surprise. The others mirrored his expression.

Gene looked from Alice to Guarnere, pausing his care. Then he looked at his other charges. "Powers, Penkala. You two can go."

Alex looked about to object, but he thought better of it. Following Shifty, he scurried away. Gene looked at Alice again. "If you're gonna punch him again, do it before I finish fixing him up."

Alice snorted and shook her head. "No more punches. But I will say this." She paused, trying to find the right words to get through to the brash young man. "If you ever speak to me or to Liebgott or to anyone who is Jewish the way you did down there, I will march your ass straight to Colonel Sink and have you demoted to Private for insubordination and conduct unbecoming of an officer so damn fast, you won't even know what hit you."

"I-"

"No, Sergeant, you do not get to interrupt me." Alice snapped again. "Your attitude needs to change, now. Insulting Sobel was one thing, but you crossed a line when you used those slurs at Liebgott. You don't have the right to use the words in my presence. Before you use a slur against me, you'd do well to remember the thirteen thousand men, women, and children burned alive in Warsaw because they believe in their faith. Or my sister, executed, for being Jewish. You have no right, Guarnere. So keep your fucking mouth shut if you can't curb your language." 

Rage filled tears filled her eyes. Alice bit her cheek to keep them from falling. Bill had the decency to look away, so Alice tried to get her breathing under control. Pent up anger for the treatment her religion suffered from caused her to shake.

The whole while, Gene had been quietly tending to Bill's clearly fractured nose. He'd managed to stem the bleeding as best he could. Beside them Talbert and Johnny just watched the exchange in absolute silence. The usually straight expression Johnny wore had managed to morph into one almost as livid as Alice's.

"Is it broken?" Alice asked Gene, breaking herself away from dressing down Guarnere. 

He stood back and hesitated. "Pro'ly a hairline fracture."

Alice nodded. Without saying anything, she backed up. Gene stopped her. "How's your fist?"

"It's fine."

"Where are you going?" Talbert asked.

Alice, still trembling, glanced from Gene, to Bill, to Tab. "To get away from his goddamn face."


	35. Chapter Thirty Five

George let his legs dangle off the side of his bunk. The cigarette he'd lit before the big fight now almost burned too low. No one in Easy Company had said anything for a while. The silence without Guarnere or Alice over the past few minutes spoke volumes instead.

"What the hell happened down here?" Alex Penkala looked around as he squeezed between the rows of bunks. He climbed up into the one just above Joe Toye. "Gonorrhea looked like he'd been chewed up and spit back out! And Alice looked about ready to shoot him."

No one responded at first. Shuffling bodies in the suspended cots and the occasional flick of a lighter made the only sounds in the otherwise fairly quiet area of Easy.

George took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Where is she now?"

"I don't know. Doc sent me and Shifty away before I could see her do any more damage." 

He chewed on the inside of his lip. With another few breaths of the last bit of the cigarette, he just looked down the row of bunks. Up one row and to his right, Lieb lay with his arms over his forehead. He seemed to be fascinated by the cloth bunk above him. Other men rested or played cards with each other.

Scooting out of his bunk, George clambered down the levels until he hit the ground. He stamped out his cigarette. Bodies filled every inch of the boat, so that George couldn't even begin to imagine a place to just go think. 

"You gonna go find her?" Joe Toye moved next to him as he stood in the small walking space. His own cigarette newly lit, smoke blew from his mouth as he spoke. 

George hesitated. "I don't know." Taking a few more moments to look around, he sighed. "I'm gonna go find Lip, first."

Together he and Joe picked their way through the belly of the ship. They passed through Dog Company's first and second platoons, and Baker's third. It had only been about six hours and already the mass of male bodies had begun to smell. 

Before too long, they came upon more men of Easy Company. Popeye, Hoobler, Blithe, and Mampre chatted together, and down the line, they found the man they were looking for. O'Hara, Grant, Ranney, and Harris sat on two cots and played cards between them, but below, Lipton lay reading a book.

"Evening, boys," George called, in his best Colonel Sink impression. 

Everyone turned to him and Joe. Various choruses of hellos and a few well intentioned insults were shot their way. Leaving Joe chatting with the men playing cards, George leaned in to Lipton's bunk.

"Hey, Lip, got a minute?" he asked.

Lip closed his book. He sat up and eyed him curiously. "Yeah, boy. What's up?"

"Not here."

Lip immediately frowned. He put his book to the side and shot up. George led the way for Lip and Joe until they reached some stairs going up onto the deck. Wind had picked up, and the waves moved a bit choppy across the horizon. As they moved, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Hey, do you guys know what's up with Alice?" Talbert, looking much better than the deep green he had been glowing earlier, moved towards them as they ascended outside. He frowned. "She absolutely tore into Guarnere about him being anti jew or somethin'."

Lip turned from Talbert to George and Joe. The former sighed, pulling out a new cigarette, and gestured for them all to follow. There weren't nearly as many men above the deck as below, and it didn't take too long to locate a small corner to chat in. As they leaned against the walls of the rooms above deck, George shuffled in place. 

"What happened?" Lipton finally prompted.

"Alice punched Guarnere," said George.

Talbert interjected. "Doc said she broke his nose."

"Fucking hell," Joe said with a deep breath.

Lipton didn't let his expression change. He stood there and glanced, silent, between them. Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he turned to George. "Start at the beginning."

And so George and Joe laid out the events leading to the punch. The fight didn't seem to surprise Lipton in the least. He even rolled his eyes ever so slightly. But when George quoted Guarnere's extremely pointed Jewish insult that he'd thrown Lieb's way, his frown deepened.

"She'd already told him to stop?" Lip asked.

"Yeah but it's fuckin Gonorrhea. Of course he didn't listen," Joe said with a growl.

"And that's when she punched him?" 

George nodded. "Yeah. Hard."

"She broke his fucking nose," Joe muttered. "Then she dragged his sorry ass up to see Doc."

Talbert nodded. "That's where we were."

"We?" Lip asked.

"Me, Martin, Shifty, and Penk. Doc gave us sea sickness pills." He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. "She walked up, dragging Guarnere behind her. Sits him down, and when Gene started fixing his nose, she started yelling at him."

"What'd she say?" Joe asked.

"A lot about his big mouth. She said she'd bring him up on charges of insubordination to Colonel Sink if he used slurs in front of her again. At that point I thought she'd punch him again. I've never seen her so angry!" Talbert shook his head again. He gestured down the deck where they stood on the starboard side up towards the aft. "She wouldn't even use his name. Called him Sergeant."

"Jesus Christ," muttered George.

Very few people in Easy were addressed by their rank by Alice. She'd use proper titles for the Lieutenants when around the enlisted. With Talbert, the two of them used their respective ranks as a joke. But really, that was it. 

"Is she still with Doc?" Lipton looked between them in concern.

"No. She left."

Lipton sighed. He looked around at them and then down the ship. "We need to tell Lieutenant Winters."

The other three started objecting immediately, with varying degrees of vulgarity. Lip didn't stop them. Finally he held up his hand. "The brass will find out eventually. She's a higher rank than he is, and she was provoked. There shouldn't be much consequence."

"Lip it's Alice. If Sobel has any dirt on her, he'll try to make Sink drop her," protested George.

"Yeah you gotta be kidding me," Joe said. "It's Guarnere's fault, anyway."

Talbert didn't add anything right away. He looked back towards the aft of the Samaria where he figured Guarnere still sat sulking. With a frown he turned back. Despite objecting initially, he agreed. "Lip's right. If someone who saw it spreads rumors, or if Guarnere can't keep that big mouth shut, the consequences will be worse than if we tell Winters first."

"We should at least talk to her first," George protested. "Or talk to Guarnere, make him apologize. She could cool down and this'll all blow over."

Lipton and Talbert exchanged glances. The odds of both Guarnere and Alice cooling down enough to have it forgotten quickly seemed unlikely. George watched the two sergeants, hoping they would let him at least try to get his two friends on speaking terms quick enough.

"Fine. But if Winters, or Nixon, or Welsh ask about it, we tell the truth. The whole truth," Lip ordered. "We're not lying to protect either of them, boys."

George begrudgingly agreed, followed by Joe and Tab. He turned. "Right. Tab, where'd you say Guarnere was?"

"Back of the ship."

George nodded. He stuck his cigarette back in his mouth and moved away with a purpose. It didn't surprise him at all when Joe fell into step on his left. A chill wind gusted into their faces, and they along with the other men up top shied away. Carefully, George led the way through the small crowds until they found Guarnere positively brooding.

They found him sitting on a crate against the side of the ship. Behind him the grey blue waves tossed in the wind. He held an ice pack against his face. Blood stained his hands from where he'd tried to stave off the flow from his nose. Dark eyes narrowed as they approached.

"Face hurt, Guarnere?" Joe asked, seething. 

"Shut up!" he snapped back.

George rolled his eyes in exasperation. Crossing his arms, he spoke, cigarette bobbing. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Guarnere sneered at him. But as both men met his gaze with fury, he looked away. Joe Toye snorted and responded for him. "He wasn't. Clearly."

"I said shut up!"

"Take your own fucking advice next time, Guarnere," Joe said.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, George shook his head. He pointed at Guarnere. "Listen. You need to apologize to Alice."

"She's the one who fucking punched me! Fuckin' dumb broad knows I can't hit her back."

"Jesus! Cool the fuckin' mouth, Guarnere!" George snapped, patience gone. "That's what got you punched in the first place!"

"You crossed a line, Bill."

Guarnere sneered, but he looked up at Joe. He held his gaze for a moment, and then George's. Neither let up. They returned his stare unflinchingly. Biting his lip, Guarnere scoffed. But he knew they were right.

"I didn't know she'd take it so damn hard," he muttered. 

"That's 'cause you didn't think!" George shifted his weight. Taking the finished cigarette from his mouth, he tossed it overboard. "Every single time she's been upset by something in the year we've known her, it was because of her Jewish heritage. And then you pull that fucking stunt?"

"You deserved the broken nose," Joe added.

Guarnere glared at him. Removing the ice wrapped in a towel, he shook his head. "I didn't mean to piss her off, ok? So quit crucifyin' me!"

"You need to talk to her," George said. He glared down at Guarnere as the man sneered again. "Drop the shit talking, Guarnere."

"Why're you here? She too scared to say it herself," he snapped. 

This time, it was George's turn to snap. He gestured behind himself. "I'm here 'cause I fuckin care about her, Gonorrhea. I thought you did too! Clearly not, though, if that's how you're gonna talk, you jackass."

Joe added a few additional, pointed insults. After a moment of starting them down, Guarnere turned away. He didn't respond. Placing the ice back over his nose, Guarnere forced himself to breathe.

"She'd probably break my face if I looked for her now," he said after a long pause. "I didn't mean to fucking hurt her."

"You gonna say sorry if we go find her?' George asked.

Guarnere hesitated but nodded. "It's one way not to get punched again."

"By her," said Joe with a growl.

Guarnere let out a single laugh. With a nod, he stood from the crate and took a deep breath. After a quick nod to George, he followed both of them to go find Alice. They didn't know where exactly she'd gone, but Guarnere had seen her walk to the opposite end of the boat. So that's where they started.


	36. Chapter Thirty Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be aware, this chapter deals with sexual assault and past sexual assault, and the PTSD that comes with that and the violent loss of a family member.

Alice stared out across the waves. A steadily growing wind made the waters choppy, and grey from the clouds brewing overhead. She took a deep breath. A salty taste lingered in her mouth as the air filled her lungs. The anger she'd been feeling faded ever so slightly. Her trembling stopped, and she did her best to forgive Guarnere in her heart.

But every time she thought about him, the hot fury blazed in her again. Indignation, and betrayal fueled her rage. If it had been someone from another Company, or even someone else from Easy like Cobb, she could've gotten over it. But it had been Guarnere. It had been one of her closest friends, a confidant, family. In her head, she knew that was just Guarnere; he had no filter, and he thrived on conflict. But her heart couldn't accept that explanation.

Rain started. Her hair and clothes became drenched almost immediately. At first she didn't move. She just let the water wash her face. It cooled her, physically and emotionally. But after a few minutes, she decided to head back below deck. In part, she wanted to make sure her bunk hadn't been taken, and she also knew the men would be looking for her.

Pushing herself away from the edge of the boat, she turned around. A door to the lower decks stood closed not too far from her. Alice pushed it open and stepped into the interior. Bustling men created a cacophony of chaos at the bottom of the small flight of stairs. All of them were 506th, but she didn't recognize any. After a moment, she realized they were from G, H, and I Companies.

A group of men lingered at the base of the stairs, right where the hallway continued for about ten feet before opening up into the large underbelly where the bunks had been installed. Two of the men had jet black hair, a third was blond, and the others loitering about had shades in between. They all held lit cigarettes, and the haze of the smoke clouded the air ever so slightly with each puff.

Alice straightened her drenched uniform. Taking the stairs one at a time, she kept her eyes forward. There was no need to invite an issue. G, H, and I rarely interacted with her beyond the lessons Alice had led for a select few. As such, she figured some amount of antagonism remained.

By the time her feet left the last step, they had all turned to her. She saw one wore sergeant's stripes. The others seemed to be corporals. With a quick nod to them, she started through the group.

"You're the broad from Easy, right?" one of them asked. He stood himself in her way a bit. "The German girl?"

She sighed. The man was one of the corporals. "I am one of Easy's Lieutenants, yes."

"Oh, a Louie?" He laughed. "Hey, the broad wants us all to know she's a Louie!"

"I saw a sign the other day," another one said. "It was all about watching out for female spies. Said they were everywhere."

"You a spy, girl?" The first one smirked at her.

Alice bit her cheek. "No. And you will address me as Lieutenant, Corporal."

He only grinned wider. Her turned to the Sergeant on his right. "Hey, Clint. Maybe we should make sure this broad's not a spy, you know, for the good of the US of A."

A hand grabbed at her backside. She spun around in protest. But as she did so, the Corporal put his arm around her neck. She tried to get her arms free. The man used his body to trap them against her back. Someone groped at her breasts, and she felt her body freeze, completely.

_"Please, let go, monsieur."_

Images flashed before her. A black uniform with white and silver accents. A deep voice with a bit of a rasp. Impeccable German. A red arm badge with a swastika.

_"I recognize a German frauline when I see one."_

A calloused hand clasped over her mouth. Her heart pounded. Her body squished against the wooden wall.

_"Do you know what we do to Germans who betray the Fatherland?"_

Tears welled in her eyes. A hand trailed up her thigh. A knee kept her pinned. Terror strangled her voice.

_"You are very pretty. It is a shame, that you are a collaborator with the enemy."_

The hand reached her underwear, into her underwear. His grip on her mouth began to falter. She used her head to knock him back. In the chaos she found a knife.

_"Adélaïde! What happened!"_

Red, everywhere. So much blood. Blood on the floor, on the wall, on her hands. It spilled under the door.

_"Robert, go. Get her out of here!"_

Boots pounded against the hardwoods. German cut harsh through the rest of the French conversations.

" _Marc-"_

They'd watched through a window. The crack of the Luger's bullet cut through the air. Her screams, suppressed only by the rough hand of her brother across her mouth, her screams called out for their third.

_"We have to go! We need to move, now. Are you listening? Look at me, Adélaïde!"_

"Alice! Jesus Christ, look at me!"

She realized someone was holding her. Alice pushed away, trying to get free. But the person restrained her.

"Alice, it's George."

George. George Luz. Suddenly she remembered where she was. Not at the bar in Paris, not in France, not even in Europe. The RMS Samaria's cramped quarters rose up around her. The men in front of her weren't Nazis. They were Paratroopers.

"There you go. Breathe." George watched her carefully. "You're ok." He kept one hand on either arm, trying to keep her steady.

She saw her own fear mirrored in his face. Alice still couldn't speak. She glanced around and past him. A crowd of men had gathered and seemed to have closed ranks around some of their companions. They'd surrounded the men who'd attacked her.

"Alice! Breathe, you need to breathe. You're ok. Joe went to get Doc and Lieutenant Winters." George looked her over a bit closer. "Goddamnit. Can you say somethin'?"

After a few moments of strangled breathing, she turned back to face him. "George."

"Hey, ok, that's better. That's a start. You were startin' to scare me."

Shouts from their left, and back behind George, drew her attention away. Groans from the men being beat up distracted her briefly. But George told her to look away.

"Come on, ignore them. They're not worth your time."

To their right, a door opened. Boots pounded down the stairs. Alice turned to look, shying back, and George with her. She saw Joe Toye, Gene Roe, Lewis Nixon, Harry Welsh, and Dick Winters hurrying down towards them. Gene moved to her immediately.

"Hey, chérie, come on. Sit down." His gaze took in her whole form. A nasty bruise had started forming on her neck, and a bit of blood trickled from her burning left cheek. He guessed someone had dug fingernails into her skin. Even though she flinched at his touch, he helped her sit down against the wall. "There yah go."

Alice closed her eyes. She tried to slow her rapidly pounding heart. Tears welled up in her eyes, and stung the open cut on her face as they fell. Gene dug through his medical bag. Her head fell back to rest against the wall. Her silent tears continued. She couldn't get Marc's face out of her mind. The voice of the Nazi officer rang in her ears. Then she wept.

Vaguely aware of what was happening, Alice heard rather than saw some MPs haul away her attackers. She could make out several voices amidst the din: Guarnere, Toye, Dick, Nixon, Harry, and George sounded further away, voices hushed. Gene just continued to talk to her as he worked. She couldn't make sense of most of it. Alice felt like she was floating. The room seemed distant, far away, her body a shell.

"Alice? Alice, Peux-tu m'entendre?"

Reality hit her like a brick. She opened her eyes. Gene knelt in front of her, expression strained. She looked at him in confusion.

"Can you hear me?" he repeated.

Alice nodded. She calmed her breathing down a bit more. "Yes. I… where'd they go?"

"The MPs are going to lock them in a private room."

"What happened?" Her throat hurt as she spoke. Alice shook her head. "Gene-"

He hesitated. "What do you remember?"

"Some."

Alice stood. Gene offered her a hand, but she refused. Standing against the wall, arms over her chest, she looked around at the now empty hallway. Where the hall ended and the enlisted bunks began, she saw the other men of Easy. Dick stood watching her, Nix and Harry with backs to them. When she stood up, he excused himself and made his way back to Gene and Alice.

"I'm fine," she said quickly. The look on Dick and Gene's faces let her know that exactly no one believed that. She amended her statement "I think? I don't actually remember much."

"What happened?" Dick asked.

With a frown, Alice tried to explain. She found herself finding it harder and harder to breathe as she went on. When she reached the part where the man had grabbed her, she paused. "I… I don't remember anything after that. Until George was talking to me."

Dick nodded. "I don't think it took long for Luz, Guarnere, and Toye to step in. They told me they found the men attacking you, and they tried to separate you. A group from Item joined them when they heard the fighting."

"You just blacked out?" Gene asked. He started looking at her head.

Alice hesitated. "Not exactly."

"What do you mean?" Dick looked at her in concern. Then he glanced to Gene, who gave a tiny shrug.

"I, uh. It was like a nightmare, but it took over. I couldn't…" She clammed up, realizing how close they watched her. "It doesn't matter. It happened years ago. It was just a memory."

Dick just nodded. He didn't push for more information. But then he sighed. "We need to report this to Colonel Sink. You'll need to tell him what happened."

Her face paled, but Alice nodded. Her body worked off of muscle memory as she followed Dick up the stairs. Gene went with them, bringing up the rear behind her. They marched towards the Regimental quarters.

The meeting with Colonel Sink passed with a blur. It didn't take long before she felt herself floating again, following movements that she'd made a thousand times aimlessly. When they'd finished talking to Sink, she heard him assure her the men would be held accountable, and it would not affect her position in the Airborne. Once Gene Roe had assured them that the men hadn't done anything beyond grope her, she'd been allowed leave.

"Lieutenant Winters, I expect you to make sure at least one other soldier is with Lieutenant Klein at all times on board this ship."

"Yes, sir."

Sink growled. "By God, I'm gonna make sure this Regiment knows this behavior will not be tolerated! It's a disgrace to the Army." He turned to Alice. "Please accept my sincerest apologies for the way these Americans have treated you. They will be punished to the fullest extent of civilian and military law."

"Yes, sir." She took a deep breath.

He dismissed them. They wandered around the deck, the rain having lessened to a gentle mist, until they reached the entrance to below decks closest to Easy Company. Dick left them, looking even more pensive than usual. Together with Gene, she made her way to most of Second Platoon.

No one spoke to her as she moved through the skinny walkway. She was keenly aware of how her body automatically flinched away at every close body. They fell silent as she approached, but quickly ended up back in conversations with each other. Night began to fall, and the lights in the ship were lowered.

Gene had her sleep in his bunk, closer to the wall of the ship. Alice thanked him quietly. Curling up into herself, she faced away from everyone else. Her body crashed. Trying to listen to conversations, the gentle murmur of the men around her slowly put her to sleep.


	37. Chapter Thirty Seven

Nixon looked around the four bed cabin he shared with Dick, Harry, and Lieutenant Heyliger. The walls had been painted white over the wood, and two small windows would’ve let in a decent amount of light had it been day time. The rain had stopped, but clouds still covered the night sky. Sitting on his bed, white sheets still tucked in, he sucked at his cigarette. Across from him, Harry lay with his arms over his head. 

The door opened, disrupting the silence in the room. Harry sat up as Dick walked in. Nixon watched him take a deep breath as he shut the door.

“What’d Colonel Sink say?” Harry asked.

Dick nodded, as if reassuring himself. “She’s not out of the airborne. He wants a guard with her at all times on the ship. I asked to be the one to handle this ahead of Sobel since she started out with my platoon, and he agreed.”

“That’s good.” Harry fumbled in his pocket. Pulling out a cigarette, he lit it and nodded again. “How is she?”

With a shrug, he ran a hand through his hair. Dick walked further into the room and tossed his jacket onto his bed next to Nixon’s. “Roe took her back down to the bunks.” He paused, collecting himself. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“She didn’t even try to fight back?” Harry still couldn’t believe it. 

Dick shook his head. “Toye, Guarnere, and Luz all told me the same thing.”

Nixon took a deep breath. He knew, out of all the men in Easy, that he was quite possibly the only one who knew why she had frozen. Or, some idea. He certainly had more context than anyone else. He’d done his research.

“Nix, you’re quiet.”

He looked up. Dick hadn’t sat down yet. With a shrug, Nixon stood up too. “Just thinking.”

“Right. One step at a time. First thing we need to do is find a way to let the enlisted know what happened without starting a brawl,” Dick continued. “Which of the NCOs is she closest with?”

Nix paused. “Uh, Talbert, Lipton, Guarnere definitely.”

“Martin and Randleman from first,” Harry added. “They talk quite a bit.”

“Right. We need to track them down and stop any rumors before this gets too big. Harry can you go find anyone from first and third? They’re quartered a bit apart from Second. Nixon, go find anyone with them, and get Luz, Toye, and Roe as well.” Dick sighed. “I have to go report this to Sobel.”

They split their separate ways. Picking through the rows of enlisted men proved more difficult than Nixon had expected. When he and Harry split from each other, he pushed through on his own. Finally, after about ten minutes, he found Easy’s Second Platoon. 

“Hey Lieutenant,” Malarkey said. He cocked his head. “Why are you down here?”

“Housekeeping. Guarnere, Toye, Luz, and Roe, I need you four to come with me.” He waved them away. “Liebgott?”

“Sir?”

“I need you, without asking questions, to stick with Lieutenant Klein until you hear otherwise.”

The entire area went absolutely silent as they heard Nixon talk. He knew his tone would make them concerned; there was absolutely no joking around about this at all. When Liebgott acknowledged the order, he looked back at where the four men in the platoon he’d called now stood in a line in front of him. “Come on.”

Nixon turned back and headed onto the deck at the nearest exit. Trusting the enlisted men were behind him, he snaked his way through the crowds and into the darkness outside. From there, finding their way to where the officers had been quartered didn’t take too long. When he opened the cabin, Dick was already back. He sent Nixon a shake of his head.

As Nixon went to close the door, Harry opened it back up. He had Lipton, Talbert, Martin, and Randleman head inside. They looked much more confused than the men Nixon had grabbed. Nix hoped that meant the rumor mill hadn’t started up yet.

“Right.” Dick nodded. Then he stopped and took another deep breath. “What we discuss here does not leave this room. Understood?” 

A chorus of ‘yes sirs’ echoed around them. 

Nodding, Dick decided to get straight to the point. “About half an hour ago, Lieutenant Klein was attacked and assaulted by some men of the 506th. From what I was able to gather from her, she had been returning to Easy’s bunks by way of G, H, and I company. A group of men blocked her path down the stairs, grabbed her, and if Guarnere, Toye, and Luz hadn’t stepped in, probably would’ve raped her.”

Nixon watched them. The word made his own stomach turn, and he’d already known the news. Johnny Martin looked absolutely livid. Beside him, Bull, Lipton, and Talbert just glanced between the officers and the four other enlisted men, completely silent.

“Where is she now?” Lipton finally asked.

Nixon answered. “Liebgott’s with her. Sink’s ordered us to keep one paratrooper with her at all times on the Samaria.”

“Which is one of two reasons you are here,” Dick added. “The other, is to tell you that this stays private. If Alice wants to talk about it that’s up to her. I don’t want you accidentally starting a rumor that leads to Easy attacking a dozen members of H company.” He turned specifically to Guarnere and Toye, both of whom looked about ready to do exactly that. “Clear?”

Another chorus of ‘yes sirs’ replied.

“Did she at least get in a few good punches?” Johnny Martin muttered.

“No,” Guarnere snapped. “She didn’t fight back.”

“At all?” Lipton’s eyes widened. He turned back to the officers. 

George shook his head. “She was terrified.”

“Sir, do we know why?” Bull turned from the enlisted to the officers as well. He crossed his arms. “That don’t seem like Lieutenant Klein.”

Dick nodded. “Agreed. All I know is that she claims she can’t remember anything from when they grabbed her to when they managed to get her separated.”

It was Talbert’s turn to be concerned. “Nothing?”

“Nothing,” Gene agreed.

“Head injuries?” Lipton asked.

Gene shook his head. “Nothin’. I checked her out. She’s gonna have a bad bruise on her neck and her wrists are pretty sore. But nothing’s wrong with her head.”

“So she just froze?” Johnny’s concern was mirrored in the others. “Sirs, I’m not saying she will, but what if that happens in combat?”

Nixon felt himself tensing. He’d hoped the conversation wouldn’t turn that way. Biting his cheek, he tried to restrain himself. But as Dick attempted to find words to assure them of something even he didn’t have an answer for, he knew there was only one choice. “She won’t.” 

“Respectfully, sir…”

“She won’t. Alice froze for a very specific reason.” Nixon turned to Gene Roe. “She mentioned something about remembering something from years ago, right?”

“Uh, yes. Yes sir.”

“Nix, what do you know?” Dick asked.

All eyes had turned to him. He knew they would. But he also knew just how furious Alice was going to be for what he was about to say. He hesitated briefly. Then he nodded. “Again, this doesn’t leave this room. That’s a direct order.” 

They all nodded. Dick and Harry both watched him in equal parts confusion and expectancy. The others had gone completely silent.

“Alice Klein was born Adelaide, not Alice.” Nixon noticed some of the men looked surprised, but not all. He fought the urge to smirk; she must’ve taken his advice and opened up a bit. “Right at the beginning of January in 1941, she and her two brothers, Marc and Robert, spent a night at a popular bar in Paris. All of them were on Nazi watch lists for minor offenses. During the evening, a colonel in the SS managed to corner her into a backroom.”

“Did he…?” George looked absolutely stricken. He took his cigarette from his mouth.

Nixon sighed. “Same thing that happened here. With one distinct exception. She did fight back, and she killed him with a knife. But killing an SS officer with a knife isn’t exactly quiet. Her brothers managed to barricade the door, but Marc stayed behind to buy them more time while Robert and Alice escaped through a window. The germans executed him for the murder on the spot.”

“Holy fuck.”

He couldn’t tell who had muttered the expletive, but he completely agreed. “Alice changed her name, and she and Robert were helped out of Paris by a British spy. By the time the Germans realized they had been part of the murder, they were long gone. That’s when they joined the Maquis.”

“Where’d you get that information?” Dick asked quietly.

“I read her file. The Maquis were required to provide information on her when she was chosen for this project. They listed the reasons she joined up, which was that.”

No one spoke for quite awhile. They could hear the waves outside, the steady creaking of the ship. Nixon had said his piece, and he knew just how well Alice would take it, which was to say, not well at all. 

Lipton finally broke the silence. He turned to Dick. “What do you want us to do, sir?”

With a small sigh, he glanced briefly at Doc Roe. But then he turned back. “Honestly, I have no idea. But, we have jobs to do. I want one of you with her at all times. She’s probably not going to like it, but frankly I don’t care. This is a direct order from the Colonel, and I happen to agree with it. Doc, any suggestions?”

He scoffed and shook his head. “We ain’t trained for anything like this. Don’t go out of your way to make her mad. Let her talk to you if she wants? I don’t think there’s any way for anyone here to understand what she’s gone through. Even with the context.”

“And what do we tell everyone else?” Joe Toye asked. “They know something’s wrong.”

Dick nodded. He paused to think. “Tell them there was a situation that is being handled. If they push you for more, send them to one of us.” He pointed to both Nixon and Harry. “And under absolutely no circumstances are any of you to retaliate against H Company. Is that clear?”

Everyone but Guarnere agreed immediately. So Dick looked at him pointedly. “Guarnere?”

“Fine, sir.”

“Good. You’re dismissed.”

They all saluted and left the room. As they closed the door behind them, Dick sighed again. He backtracked to his bed and sat down. 

“She’s going to kill you, Nixon,” Harry said, taking out another cigarette.

He scoffed. “I expect nothing less.”

As Harry and Dick both changed into clothes to sleep in, Nixon stood at the window and drank from his flask. He knew she’d be furious. To be fair, she probably had a right to be. But he’d told them for their peace of mind, and hers. They couldn’t afford the NCOs questioning her fitness to fight based on misinformation. By the time Moose Heyliger came back and went to bed, Nixon had finally finished the entire flask. He needed sleep as well. Only a day into their voyage across the Atlantic and he already felt exhausted.


	38. Chapter Thirty Eight

Her entire body ached as Alice clawed her way back to consciousness. It took a moment for her to understand why. Shifting in her bunk away from the side of the ship to face the rows of paratroopers, she hissed when moving her wrist.

Alice stopped breathing. Memories crashed back in, confusing amalgamations of her last day in Paris and her first day on the Samaria. She remembered blood, she remembered cold hands on her skin, and she remembered her terror. Her head spun. Releasing the tension in her chest, she forced a breath.

To her surprise, Gene didn’t occupy the bunk to her right. It had taken longer than it should’ve to recognize Talbert sitting with his back against a pole, just to the right of her head. He was working on a crossword puzzle in a newspaper he must’ve picked up in New York City. Various soldiers of Easy occupied nearly all the other bunks. George’s voice floated from the one beneath her, along with Skip, Alex, and Don’s laughter.

“What are you doing here, Tab?” Alice asked. Her voice sounded rough, and slightly painful, as she spoke. Her hand flew to her neck as she sat up. Instantly, Alice regretted it. The sudden pressure to her windpipe area caused pain to shoot through her skin.

Floyd Talbert looked over. “Alice! You’re up.” He put down the crossword.

She eyed him carefully. His frown, and the way his gaze flickered over her made her uneasy. Rumors spread like wildfire in the 506th. The last thing she needed was for the entire battalion to know she’d stood by and let men grope her.

“What, not calling me Lieutenant, anymore? It’s Alice now?” At his visible flinch, she regretted her harsh tone. But an apology stuck in her throat. “It’s clear you know something. Who told you, Guarnere? George?”

Talbert shook his head. “Lieutenant Winters. He told some of the NCOs what happened and ordered us to stop the rumors and uh, keep you company.”

“Nice way of saying you’re my bodyguard.” Alice shook her head and looked around. No one else had realized she’d woken up, or else they’d all decided to act like nothing happened. She had a feeling that would be too good to be true, though. “How bad is the bruise on my throat?”

He hadn’t meant to hesitate. But as he looked at the deep red splotches on and to the left of her windpipe, he didn’t know what exactly to say. Alice’s sigh told him she guessed his thoughts.

“Who knows?”

Shifting in his cot, Talbert shrugged. “Besides the guys who found you? Me, Lip, Martin, and Randleman.”

“No one else?”

He shook his head. “Winters said that anyone who wouldn’t accept the explanation of them not needing to know should be sent his way. So far that’s kept everyone quiet.”

Alice fumbled around her pocket. The jackasses from H company must’ve stolen her cigarettes, because where the pack had been, now she found only her picture of herself and her brothers. She cursed under her breath in German. “You got any cigarettes?”

“Not on me.” Talbert leaned over the other side of the bunk. “George, gimme a smoke.”

She heard the man scoff, but soon Talbert straightened back up and handed over a white cigarette. Not a moment later, George himself scrambled up into Talbert’s cot, much to the man’s annoyance. It barely had enough room for both of them sitting cross legged.

“Figured it’d be for you.” George flashed her a smile. It dropped ever so slightly as he looked her over. “Shit, you’ve looked better.”

“Subtle.”

He smirked, popping a cigarette into his own mouth. After passing her a light, he lit his own. “Tab drew the short straw and had to sit here while you were asleep.”

“Short straw?”

George chuckled as Talbert rolled his eyes. With a nod, he pointed at Tab and then her. “You don’t talk much when you’re asleep.”

She raised her eyebrows. With a small shake of her head, she glanced around. The area felt quieter than usual, but all the cots looked full. Glancing back at George, her breath caught again. Unbidden memories of the day before, his face being the first thing she could picture beyond snapshots of her days in Paris, reminded her of the attack.

George stopped smiling. “You good?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” But Alice looked away from both of them, glancing down the wall of the ship, pretending to be extremely interested in something else. Her heart pounded. Still averting her gaze, Alice hesitated before speaking again. “Uh. Thanks, George.”

“Yeah, what for?” He glanced across at Talbert in confusion.

“Yesterday.”

“Oh.” After a long pause, he shrugged. “Joe and Bill smashed the guys up pretty good too.”

Alice snapped back to look at him. Suddenly the memories of what had led to her being in the wrong part of the ship alone flooded back in. Mocky. Jewboy. Alice could feel the anger pulsing through her yet again. It must’ve been obvious, too, because George took the cigarette out of his mouth, and Talbert straightened in his seat.

“I know you’ve got no reason to listen to me, but Guarnere didn’t mean to piss you off.” George hesitated to see if she’d blow up at him. When she stayed quiet, he took it as a good sign. “He’s an idiot, and a jackass, but he cares.”

“You’re right on two counts. He’s an idiot, and he’s a jackass. I’ve told him enough about life back in France for him to know not to speak that way.” Alice bit her cheek. “He deserved the broken nose.”

“You ain’t wrong.”

“Now that he knows about your brother, maybe he’ll keep his mouth shut,” Talbert muttered. He realized what he’d said immediately, and locked eyes with George. The other man gave a tiny shake of his head and pulled his cigarette out of his mouth.

Alice didn’t respond immediately. It took a moment for her to register what Talbert had said. But as the words sank in, she glanced at him. “What?” The fact that he didn’t respond immediately made her turn to face them instead of straight ahead. “Do you… you mean Marc?” Alice didn’t know whether to be angry or hurt. “How?”

“It was just to give the NCOs some context,” George ventured. “For what happened yesterday.”

“Who?”

“Just the guys who they told-”

Alice cut him off. “No, who told you? Who the hell…” She didn’t even wait for an answer. They’d never say, she knew it by their already obvious hesitance. Her mind began working overtime. Who had known? She’d mentioned her brother’s death offhand to most of Easy but she’d never gone into the details of that night.

Maybe Colonel Sink had known? If he’d known, maybe Strayer? But neither Tab nor George had any reason to defend either of them. So it had to be someone else.

As she went to ask again, Alice froze. She closed her mouth. Her gaze darted between them. Alice felt chills. “No. He wouldn’t.”

Lewis Nixon was the only person they all knew with access to the information who they all knew well enough to care about. Based on the hesitant expression on both the men’s faces, they knew she knew. Alice felt her hands trembling as she pulled on her jacket from where it had bunched up. “Come with me, or get out of my way.” She didn’t even wait for them as she clambered onto the empty bunk in front of her and across the one to its right.

Several people tried to talk to her as she scrambled down the bunks to the floor. She didn’t respond. Anger, shock had replaced her hurt. The company that bunked after them had left for lunch, so she easily made her way to the deck access.

“Alice!”

Evidently at least George had decided to follow her. Taking the steps two at a time, Alice emerged into the sunlight. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the brightness. A hand touched her arm. With a gasp, Alice jerked away.

George looked like he’d been burned. “Sorry, I didn’t…”

“Where are they quartered?” He hesitated again, and she stepped a half step closer. “That’s an order.”

“Room 219.”

Alice nodded. She spun on her heels. Passing several groups of paratroopers, she found the nearest door into the levels where the officers had their quarters. It didn’t take long to locate a stairwell. With George behind her all the way, she sped through the well decorated halls on the Samaria until she stopped before a door labeled 219. With half a mind to open the door unannounced, she stood silent.

The door opened and Lieutenant Heyliger stood in the doorway. He smiled, then glanced down at the bruise on her throat, and moved past her without saying much. He just let his pitying half smile do the talking instead. She stopped the door from closing. Harry and Nixon sat inside, a table pulled between the beds, playing poker. Dick sat at a desk in a corner, facing away from the door. They didn’t notice her.

Turning to face George, she glared at him. He hesitated, but got the message, and headed down the hall. She turned back to where the officers sat enjoying themselves. Words escaped her. How they, especially Nixon, dared to sit there after betraying her trust made her sick.

As she stood there contemplating what to say, what to do, Harry glanced over. He put down the glass of whiskey he’d been drinking. Immediately, Nixon followed his gaze. She heard him curse under his breath.

“Nice to see you up,” Harry ventured.

Dick turned around to look at her. She still stood in the doorway, debating how to start, how to convey her thoughts to these three men. Nixon, of course, was the only one who could’ve gotten the information about her previous assault. Only he could’ve known how she’d been the cause of Marc’s death. But the other two hadn’t stopped him from making it public.

Finally, she stepped inside and shut the door. “How?” She glared at Nixon while she spoke.

“How what?” he tried.

Alice half laughed. “Stupidity isn’t a good look on you.” After a brief pause she shook her head again. “Did… You read my file? And don’t act stupid again. That’s the only way you could’ve known… When?”

Nixon took a sip of his whiskey. “A few months ago.”

“You fucking bastard.”

Dick sighed. He got up from the desk and walked around to sit on the bed near Harry. He shook his head. “Alice-”

“Where the hell do you get off going through that information?” she snapped again, completely ignoring Dick.

“He never should’ve gone through that,” Dick agreed. He watched her. When she finally locked eyes with him, Dick shook his head. “He was wrong.”

“Wrong? He is so far past wrong right now, he’s lucky I don’t punch him the same way I punched Guarnere.”

Dick raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on her admission to punching Guarnere. He just sighed. “Alice take a breath.”

"Take a breath?"

“I looked into your file after Lipton had to march you to the showers to help you get sober.” Nixon pointed at her. “Your drinking was getting out of control. Doc was concerned, so I figured I’d do some digging.”

“You want to lecture me on drinking?” Alice stepped closer into the room. “You? The one who stashes alcohol in your friend’s footlocker so the brass can’t take it. So fucking terrified you'll have to go without?” She reached forward and grabbed the flask from the table in front of him. "Unless this is water, not whiskey?" Unscrewing it, she took a whiff. "Definitely whiskey."

“At least I know how to hold my alcohol,” Nixon snapped, standing up. “You don’t see me throwing up from too much wine.”

Dick glanced at Harry first before standing up as well. “Ok. Both of you, that’s enough. Nixon, reading her file was wrong. But Alice, he only told us about the night in Paris to stop the enlisted from spreading rumors about why you froze instead of fighting back. Marc’s death-”

“You don’t get to say his name,” she snapped.

Harry sighed. “Alice, only five NCOs and the men who helped you know what happened. And they’re not going to tell anyone.”

Alice glanced between them. Her body tensed. They were all standing up now, Nixon with his flask in one hand after picking it up off the ground from where she’d tossed it. Dick stood next to Harry beside the poker table, slightly closer to her. They’d surrounded her. A pit formed in her stomach. She backed up.

Part of her, a small, microscopic part, knew Dick was right. The men needed context. But the sheer betrayal she felt from Nixon’s snooping buried that. Instead she felt herself growing cold, almost numb.

“I trusted you, I trusted this company. Twice in as many days I’ve been shown how that trust gets rewarded. And you know what? I was right. I never should’ve let myself think of any of you as more than the way we free Europe.” Alice felt tears trying to form. She forced herself to stop, the lump in her throat growing the more she stifled the crying. But the tears never fell. Nixon moved slightly towards her. "Get the fuck away from me." With a last shake of her head, she left the room, leaving it silent behind her as the door slammed closed.

It barely surprised her to find George standing next to the door, smoking. He looked at her warily. Neither of them spoke. So far, George was the only one she didn’t want to punch. With a deep breath, she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.

“C'mon.” He gestured down the hall with his head. “It’s nicer outside anyways.”

With her throat still stinging from repressed tears, she just nodded. In silence, Alice following George Luz, they walked down the hall and past a couple officers. After taking the stairs, they walked out on deck. Brilliant blue skies with barely a cloud to be seen stretched as far as the equally blue ocean. The gentle waves rose and fell. Alice went to the front of the ship. She sat on the boxes Gene had used to treat the seasick men of Easy. Closing her eyes, she tried to tune into the gentle movement of the troopship. George didn’t leave her side.


	39. Chapter Thirty Nine

**September 15, 1943**

_Aldbourne, Wiltshire, England_

As Alice strolled down the relatively quiet street in the small town of Aldbourne, she shifted her backpack and readjusted the duffle bag in her right hand. In her left, the small slip of paper with the address of her billet became harder and harder to see as the sun sank in the sky. Cloud cover obscured what remained of daylight. Beneath the address, the name Mrs. Milicent Bratt had been scrawled in neat cursive by one of the aids of the officers of the Royal Army Service Corps.

Requesting to stay billeted in a house separate from the lodging being used for Easy’s enlisted had come as a surprise to the men. She guessed most of them still didn’t know what had happened on the Samaria. By now the bruise on her neck had faded to a light pink. 

Her anger had cooled, replaced by a wariness she’d not felt since the early days of Toccoa. Alice still talked to the enlisted, still took her meals with them if invited. But she found herself placing barriers between her emotions and their companionship. Some barriers were on purpose, others she put up without even thinking. On the other hand, Alice did her absolute best to avoid the other officers as much as she could. She’d gone straight to Colonel Sink to request the private housing. Sobel had heard it from him, and she guessed the other officers would hear it from Sobel. Frankly she didn’t care.

Her boots hit the pavement methodically. The numbers on the quaint houses started dropping. Before long, she found herself standing in front of the house she’d been assigned. The white brick house had several windows lit, though soft fabric obscured her view inside. The dark door had a bell to the right. Alice looked at the reddish-brown slanted roof. She decided she liked it.

Alice knocked on the brown door three times. She adjusted her stance, waiting. Footsteps pounded down the hall and a voice echoed inside, female. The door swung open. Inside, a teenage young woman with deep brown hair and blue eyes stared at her, light flooding the darkened street. Alice squinted a bit.

“Madeleine Rose, I’ve told ya’ a thousand times not t’ open the door without me!”

The girl, Madeleine, just smiled at Alice. Behind her appeared another woman, the one who had spoken. She also had dark hair and blue eyes, and stood several inches taller than Madeleine. In her arms, a young boy of maybe two squirmed.

“Ah! Ya’ must be Lieutenant Alice Klein?” 

Alice smiled. “Yes. Milicent Bratt?”

“Millie. Nobody calls me Milicent but my gran.” She shifted the boy in her arms. “Madeleine, get ya’ backside outta the way for her!”

Madeleine rolled her eyes, but moved aside. With a smile, Alice stepped into the house. Floral wallpaper and large plank wood floors greeted her. A few lights lit the hallway and the room to the left, a living room with couches and an oriental rug.

“I must say, when the Yanks said they had a lady for us to quarter I thought them mad,” Millie rambled on. “What with all the men queuing up from the docks and not one lady among ‘em. But we’re happy to house ya’.”

“I appreciate it.” 

The boy in Millie’s arms squirmed to be let down. The woman rolled her eyes but set him down. “This is my son Percy. He says no to just about everything these days. And that girl who blocked your path was Madeleine, my younger sister.”

Alice smiled as the boy darted down the hall, his light brown hair bouncing behind him. He disappeared around a corner, and soon laughter from both Percy and Madeleine could be heard. Standing next to the door, before a large staircase, Alice shuffled in place.

Millie’s smile faded ever so slightly as she gazed down the now empty hallway. With her hands on her hips, she shook her head. Then she turned back. “Now then. How about some tea? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired? You really must tell me all about what you do for the Americans. I can tell you aren’t one of them; you from France? Your accent’s faded but it’s still there.”

“Originally, I’m from Hamburg, actually. My father was German, but my mother was from western France. We moved to Paris when I was in school,” Alice told her. She laid her bags down next to the door and followed Millie down the hall towards the kitchen and dining room.

“Ah so you are from France!”

Grinning, Millie grabbed a kettle and set water to start boiling on the stove. She took two cups from one of the white cabinets and set them on the countertops. As Alice stood looking around, she found herself smiling. The home reminded her of one of the houses she’d stayed in frequently in Provence on holiday.

“So, spill. Why you with the Yanks? What’s a lady doing with those men? Scandalous.” Though she seemed to criticize, Millie’s grin said otherwise.

“S’long story,” Alice admitted. She slipped into one of the wooden dining room chairs. 

Millie shrugged. “I’m here all night, love.”

With a chuckle, Alice nodded. “Alright. Well, back in France I joined the Maquis in 1941. Acted as a sniper and a runner. Last year the Americans contacted one of the leaders of the French Resistance and they recommended me, since I had contacts in Germany and France, and I’m able to speak French, German, English, and Dutch fluently.” She shrugged. “Well, I ended up here for a month or two before they set me over the ocean to help them.”

“What are they like? My husband Andrew, God rest his soul, had been to America once. Said they were downright awful.”

Alice laughed. “They’re interesting. The only word I can use for them is brash.”

The kettle whistled, steam rising from the spout rapidly. With practiced ease, Millie lifted it off the stove top and poured the blazing hot water into the two cups.

“Earl Grey good for ya’?”

“Sure.”

“I’m afraid I can’t waste cream on the tea, with the rationin’ and all. Bloody terrible that is.” Millie sighed and shook her head. Picking up the two cups, she rounded the counter and set one before Alice. Taking the seat across from her, she leaned over her arms and watched Alice with interest. “What do ya’ do with ‘em?”

“The Americans?”

“Yeah. Did they train you to fight with ‘em?”

Alice smiled. “Yes. I’m a certified paratrooper. When they go to the mainland, I’ll go to the mainland.”

“You happy to be back here? I know England isn’t France, but we’re closer neighbors than the New World, that’s for sure.”

“I won’t lie, it does feel good to be here.” 

They sipped at their tea for awhile. Millie told Alice that Madeleine had gone to put Percy to bed, so they had the rest of the evening to themselves. She explained that her sister had moved in after the deaths of Millie’s husband and their parents. Apparently both Andrew, her husband, and William, her father, had been killed in the war. Their mother Miriam had died of a broken heart.

“Why she gets to up and die from a broken heart and I don’t, I’ll never know,” Millie muttered, half joking. “God rest all of them. The world’s worse off with their absence. But Maddie and I get along alright, and Percy adores her.”

Talk then turned to Alice. Over the course of about an hour and two cups of tea, she gave an overview of the training she’d gone through. Millie had listened intently, finding it all very fascinating, though she insisted she would never want to do anything of the sort. At 2200 hours, Millie showed Alice to what had been Madeleine’s room. The teen would be sleeping in Percy’s room instead. 

“I know ya’ said you were gonna smoke before bed, so I’ll leave the door unlocked. Just be sure to turn the key when ya’ do come in, right?” Millie stood on the third step, Alice by the door. “Breakfast will be at eight o’clock sharp, if you’re here and wantin’ to enjoy it.”

“Thank you.”

“Course. Good night.”

Alice turned away from Millie as the slightly older woman tiptoed up the stairs. Taking care not to make too much noise, Alice opened the front door and ducked out into the cool September night. At the end of the short lawn and walkway, a street lamp provided some light. She took out her pack of cigarettes and her lighter and stood beneath it.

She’d only gotten half way through her smoke when she heard the front door of the next house over open and shut. Alice turned, and tried to glance past the edge of the light from the lamppost. After a moment she recognized the man who approached. Alice folded her arms over her chest.

“Ron, what are you doing here?”

“Could ask you the same,” he replied. Stepping under the light of the street lamp, he pulled out his own cigarette and lighter. After inhaling deeply, he turned back to her. “I don’t think I saw you at all between New York and here.”

“I’m billeted here,” Alice said. She gestured behind herself up the small sidewalk. Ignoring Ron’s obvious, though unstated question, she shook her head. “I’m glad to be off that ship.”

“I’ll bet.”

She turned to him. With a deep sigh, she shook her head. “Great, how many in Dog know about it then.”

“About the attack on you? Not many. It’s been kept pretty hush hush,” he said. “Sobel was ranting about it in the officers’ mess towards the end of the trip. That’s how I found out.”

Neither one said anything else for awhile. They smoked in peace and silence, listening to the trees rustling in the gentle but steady breeze, and watching as the clouds faded away and left s million stars behind. Alice frowned around her cigarette.

“Course, then I interrogated Nixon, Winters, and Welsh.” He smirked a bit to himself. Taking out his cigarette, he blew a long cloud of smoke. “I don’t think I’ve seen any of them in as rotten a mood as they are since I met them.”

“That’s nice.”

Ron suppressed a wider grin. Leaning against the fence at his back, he crossed his arms. “So then I asked what had them so pissed off. Figured they wanted to beat up How Company or something.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Yeah, what’d they say?”

“I don’t think I need to tell you.”

With a scoff, she pulled the finished cigarette out of her mouth. Stomping on it under her heel, she didn’t respond. Instead, Alice pulled out a second cigarette, lit it, and stuck it in her mouth. Finally she spoke again. “Humor me, Ron.”

He let out a tiny, humorless laugh. “Fine. Welsh didn’t say much. I don’t think he trusts me.” Ron smirked as Alice looked at him with a small, knowing smile. “Winters wouldn’t say much either, but that’s nothing knew. Nixon, though, said a lot about you not taking care of yourself and then mentioned something to the effect of being extremely pissed off at you. He ended his rant defending his drinking?”

“Interesting. Nixon’s an idiot, so I’m not surprised,” Alice snapped back.

Ron just scoffed again. “That’s not true. Nixon’s a lot of things, not all of them good, but an idiot is not one. He’s loud and obnoxious, but at least he’s got intelligence to try to balance that.”

“So you think it’s alright that he went and invaded my files without asking?”

With a shrug, he inhaled his cigarette smoke before replying. “If he’d asked you for the information he’d needed, would you have told him?” When she didn’t respond he continued. “Is looking into a classified military file a nice thing to do? No. But we’re at war. You know that better than anyone else.”

“Oh, so that excuses divulging private information. Extremely private?” She shook her head and scoffed.

But Ron cut her off before she could rant any further. “Yes. It does. From what I can piece together, you weren’t being responsible. That puts you in danger, and if you’re in danger, that puts your Company in danger. Then you almost get raped and the only way to explain why you didn’t defend yourself was for him to tell a select few people the reason. By doing that, he cut off any potential rumors that could undermine the Company’s faith in your ability to fight.” He sighed. “You know better than anyone else, you being a woman already makes your job harder. People will latch onto any weakness you show and use that to prove you’re unfit to serve.”

Alice didn’t have a response. She just stared at him. Ron didn’t look her way at first, but after a few seconds, he turned and looked at her right in the eyes. She felt her anger increasing again, her body trembling. But after a few moments of trying to stare down Ron Speirs, she looked away. He gave her sound logic. But it didn’t make her feel any better.

“He crossed a line.”

Ron shrugged. “We’re at war. A lot of lines are going to be crossed. Is there anything you wouldn’t do to free Europe?”

She paused again. Taking her cigarette out, she tried to control her breathing. His words cut deep into her heart. She had done her fair share of questionable things in the Maquis. Anyone not with the liberation movement was an enemy, a collaborator. Framing them for activities the Maquis had engaged in had been just one way she’d crossed a few lines already.

“Don’t burn every bridge you’ve made,” Ron said. He threw his cigarette to the ground and smashed it with his heel. “You’re too smart to make that mistake. That mistake will get you killed.”

He didn’t say goodnight before turning away from her and walking back to the house next door. Alice watched his back until he disappeared inside. With a moment to herself, she plopped her cigarette back in her mouth to enjoy the last bit. Her anger still blazed against the betrayal she’d felt at the hands of Easy. But Ron was right, as usual. If she wanted to free Europe, she couldn’t afford to cut off all her allies. And deep down, she missed her friends.

But she didn’t know if she could consider them friends anymore. Her heart hurt too much, as much as her brain had the sense to know she needed them. With a sigh, Alice turned away from the road. She had way too much to think about to go to bed, but she needed to go inside.


	40. Chapter Forty

Alice joined them for breakfast the next morning, relishing the chance to enjoy fresh eggs and a few links of sausage. Meals in the army weren’t exactly something to look forward to. Billeting alone clearly had its advantages beyond not having to interact with the other officers and enlisted men.

Once she’d finished her meal and hung around the house awhile, Alice decided to take a walk with Millie and Percy while Madeleine had school. The good Colonel Sink had agreed to let Alice take advantage of being out of the United States and allow her to be out of uniform whenever she wasn’t training. In his opinion, it would be easier to hide her existence as a soldier that way. So with a light grey dress featuring large black buttons down the side in an asymmetrical line, she wandered through the early morning of Aldbourne. The curler Millie lent her had done wonders for her hair, and she added her beret as well. It felt incredibly empowering to be able to put herself together.

“So, ya’ like the boys you’ve got ‘round ya’?” Millie asked.

Alice stiffened a bit. She had told Millie mostly about her job, and nothing about the others. But she couldn’t blame the woman for being curious. “They’re good at their jobs.” Her thoughts drifted to Nixon briefly. 

“Good at their jobs? Well that’s good, love. Would hate for you t’ have to waste your time on men who can’t fight this war properly.” Millie watched Percy pick a rock up off the sidewalk. “Perce, don’t put that in your mouth!”

With a small grin, Alice shook her head. Millie hurried forward to where Percy just continued kicking rocks down the sidewalk. The little boy had quite a mouth when he wanted to, but he just seemed content to quietly resist his mother’s authority.

“Did you want to go out for drinks tonight?” Millie chuckled when Alice glanced at her in surprise. “Oh come off it. I may be a mother but I’m only a bit older than you I’d guess. I still enjoy a night out. And your boys don’t start their training for a few days yet, right?”

Alice smiled. With a nod, she turned to her. “I’d love that, actually. I’ve been surrounded by men for so long that I need some female company.”

“Good!” 

Millie and Percy led the way towards the center of town. The toddler started rambling on about wanting to find “Edgar.” Eventually, she realized Edgar was a puppy owned by a local shop owner. 

“Percy, if ya’ stop whinging, we’ll find him, love, ok?” She turned to Alice beside her. “I swear, he listens to me less and less every day.”

Alice laughed out loud. Thinking of her own younger sister, she just nodded. “My sister Bernadette was the same way, Millie. Of course we were only about six years apart, so it wasn’t my job to keep her in line!”

“True, true. My sister Maggie lives in London these days, working as a secretary for the war office. She’s your age.”

“Mum! Edgar!”

“Alright, hun, alright!” 

Millie laughed and hurried after her son. The shop where Edgar made his home soon came into view around the corner. Alice giggled, losing control of herself as a massive, shaggy dark brown dog bounded out the door and started licking Percy in the face. Edgar’s fur partially obscured his eyes but his enthusiasm more than made up for it.

“Good morning, Ms. Millie,” an old man said. He grinned as he exited the shop, looking down at Edgar attacking Percy. His thin white hair had been mostly covered by a small hat. “And you are?”

“Alice Klein.” She smiled at the old man, catching a whiff of his tweed vest. It smelled of rich cigars. 

“Pleasure, Miss Klein.”

Millie stood up from where she’d been petting Edgar. “Morning, Donald. Mind if we step inside and look over your stock?”

“Of course!” He whistled to Edgar. “Come on, boy. Back inside.”

As Alice went to follow the other three indoors, she heard someone call her name. Glancing back over her shoulder, she found a group of Easy Company strolling down the road. After freezing for a brief moment, she turned inside to Millie, and told the woman she’d be right back.

“Thought that was you!” Talbert grinned as she approached them. “Lookin’ good, Lieutenant.”

She looked past him. Lipton, Bill Guarnere, and Joe Toye all stood around, the latter three smoking cigarettes. With a small smile and a nod, she walked over and stood between Talbert and Lip.

“How are you settled in?” she asked after a moment. “Hopefully they’ve found somewhere for you that isn’t too bad.”

Joe shrugged. “It’s a fucking barn, but they’ve put in beds and stuff.”

“Could do with some prettier company though, that’s for sure,” Talbert joked.

She hoped they didn’t see her flinch. But Alice just shrugged. “I’m sure it could.”

“Who’s the broad you’re with?” Guarnere asked a moment later.

“Millie Bratt. She’s a widow of a British soldier. I’m living with her. It’s a nice house.” Alice didn’t say anything more. She shrugged her shoulders and internally, wished over and over that God would see fit to deliver her from the conversation. She hoped Millie would finish up with her shopping quickly. But it wasn’t to be.

“Lieutenant Speirs is billeted next to me,” she added after a moment. Alice forced a smile on her face. “So at least I can smoke with someone else at night.” She watched several of them roll their eyes. It never failed to amuse her at how they disliked Ron Speirs.

“Hey, we’re grabbing lunch in an hour, if you want to come,” Lipton said. 

Alice hesitated. Clearly the hesitation hit them hard, though, because she saw all of them shuffle in place and start frowning. “Thanks, but I think I’ll spend some time helping Millie with Percy. He’s a bit of a handful.”

Lipton nodded. “How old is he?”

WIth a small smile, she glanced back towards the door into the shop. “Two and a half. He’s learned how ‘no’ works.” After staring off that way for a moment, she turned back. Following a brief pause, Alice decided to throw them an olive branch. “Millie and I are going to one of the local pubs tonight, though. So maybe I’ll see you all there? I know some of you had high hopes for the British women and their dancing.”

“Which one?”

“I don’t know. But if you hit enough, I’m sure you’ll find us.” Alice turned away as Millie and Percy left the shop. But before she could excuse herself, she saw the woman heading over, Percy in her arms. 

“Friends of yours, Alice?” She looked at the men in their dress uniforms and nodded. 

“These are some of the men from Easy,” she said with a nod, “the men I told you about.” Alice turned to them. “Sergeant Carwood Lipton, Sergeant Floyd Talbert, Sergeant Bill Guarnere, and Corporal Joe Toye. This is Mrs. Millie Bratt, and Percy Bratt.”

“Nice to put names to faces,” Millie nodded.

Talbert grinned “She’s talked about us then? Good things, hopefully.”

“Mostly. She said you lot are good at your jobs. Which you should be, since you Yanks took your bloody time getting over here,” she said. Her tone was harsh, but not necessarily unkind. “But, I suppose we should be thanking you. The American boys coming to save the ol’ Brits.”

“Whatever it takes to end the war, Millie,” Alice agreed. “The Americans are our best bet.” She saw them start to smirk, so she turned to them directly. “Of course, they’re only our best bet because for the past three years they’ve been ignoring Europe. But, now they’re here.”

Millie nodded. “You boys are lucky the Luftwaffe can’t fly across the sea. The Blitz is terrifying. That would’ve pulled ya’ into the war right quick.” She shook her head. “My sister’s husband Albert died in the Blitz, on exactly the fiftieth night those Germans lit up London. You’d think after that long you’d get used to the bombs, but no. Ya’ never get used to diving into the shelters, waiting to close the door as long as possible.”

“I told you, though. Easy Company is the best of the best. If anyone can help us end the Nazi reign, it’s them.” Alice nodded to them, and then turned around. “Come on, it’s almost lunch.”

“Dear me, you’re right.” She nodded to the men of Easy. “It’s been a pleasure, Yanks. Good luck in Aldbourne. I’m sure you’ll see us around. This isn’t a big town.”

Alice nodded to them, forcing herself to smile, though it faltered when she made eye contact with Guarnere. The walk back to Millie’s house passed mostly in silence. The woman didn’t try to prod into her quiet contemplation either, which Alice greatly appreciated. She got the feeling that Millie enjoyed the same sort of secretive existence as she herself did.

That day, Alice did mundane tasks around the house. Millie had an old piano, one that had belonged to her husband. Slightly out of tune, it still managed to brighten Alice up when she sat down to play after the chores had been completed. By late afternoon, Madeleine had come home. Unlike Millie, Madeleine asked questions, lots of questions. She wanted to know everything about America, and about France, and about Germany. She wanted to know about training and guns and war games. She even wanted to know about the men. Alice didn’t find the inquisitiveness too uncomfortable, and managed to either answer everything honestly or stear conversations in other directions when the topic became too tough to discuss.

Percy went down for bed around eight o’clock. In no uncertain terms, Millie told her younger sister to dedicate the evening to cleaning her bedroom and listening for her nephew. The girl protested only briefly. Once they’d gotten that settled, the two older women spent time getting ready for the pubs.

The dress that Millie leant Alice sat in a similar fashion to the one she’d worn that morning. But instead of grey, the one for that night was dark green, with black buttons and a shirred waist. Overall it flattered her well, and Millie only had to use a few safety pins to make it perfect. The Englishwoman opted to wear black herself.

“Now, I don’t claim to know what’s going on between you and those boys of your Easy Company, but I’m not blind either. So if they cause trouble with you tonight, let me know. I’ll see ‘em out if they do,” Millie said. 

They wandered together down the lane, darkness all around them. Street lamps offered the only light along their paths besides the full moon and bright stars above them. Soldiers and locals wandered around, popping out of various pubs, laughing and even singing. As the road became lined with more and more nightlife, light poured from windows as well as lamps.

Alice chuckled. “Millie, don’t worry too much. The thing that happened… I need to move past it. And I’ll only do that by spending more and more time with them.”

“Whatever you say, love. I don’t intend to stand by an’ watch while a man makes you uncomfortable, though.”

“And for that, I am very much grateful.”

Millie led them to a pub with the head of an eagle and a harp on the sign. She smiled and opened the door. As they stepped inside, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol hit them. Wooden floors creaked beneath each step they and the other patrons made. And many patrons there were. A half dozen local men, twice as many soldiers, and a good number of young women stood or sat around the pub. A wall of darts and a table where cards had been set up offered some things to do beyond drink and chat. Still, most patrons did just that. A dance floor to the left of the main bar stood with only three or four dancing couples. The rest mingled in small groups.

“See anyone you know?” Millie asked, raising her voice over the din. She ushered Alice to a table deeper into the pub, closer to the dance floor than the darts. “If I may say so, at least the American uniforms are easy on the eyes.”

Alice shook her head. “Not yet.”

They slipped into a table. Barely five minutes had passed before they’d gotten drinks, a Cabernet Sauvignon for Alice and a Scotch for Millie. Swing music floated in the background from a radio, and every so often it broke to bring war updates. They settled back in their chairs.

“Either of you fancy a dance?”

Both of them turned to look at who had spoken. A well-groomed, blond haired paratrooper of the 82nd stood by them, glass of beer in hand. He didn’t seem drunk. Millie smiled.

“Mind if I leave you alone for a bit, love?” she asked.

Alice just shrugged. It amused her to see Millie move off with the young man. She’d told Alice how dancing made her forget about her late husband for just long enough to ease the pain. Alice’s grin only spread as she watched the woman and the paratrooper begin to dance to the music.

“Can I sit?”

Alice turned to look in the other direction. She knew who the voice belonged to before she even laid eyes on him. Without evening thinking about it, her smile fell and she set her wine glass back down. “Nixon.”

“Is that a yes?” He had a glass in his right hand. No smile graced his face either. Despite the small attempted joke, neither laughed. After a brief pause, he shrugged and gestured over his shoulder with his left hand. “Dick said he would babysit us if you let me sit, but I said we could talk like civilized people.”

“Can we?” she snapped. Instantly, she felt a bizarre mix of regret and satisfaction pass over her when the words left her mouth. She sighed, sat up straighter, and nodded. “Fine.”

A ghost of a smile lit up Nixon’s face. He wasted no time in occupying the chair that Millie had vacated. A quick drink later, he leaned back in the chair and watched her the same way she watched him: warily.

“The woman you were with, is she your host?” 

Alice nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, her name is Millie Bratt. She lost her husband in the war, and is raising her two year old son Percy, and her sister Madeleine now.”

“Strong woman.”

She hummed in agreement. Bringing her wine to her lips, she let the alcohol offer her some small amount of relief from stress. “Where are you housed?”

“Dick, Harry, and I ended up in a boarding school they vacated for us,” he said. “It’s not too bad.”

Alice watched him carefully. Without even realizing, she’d started biting at her inner lip, debating what to say. The fact that he’d sought her out made her a bit more willing to try to mend their broken friendship, as clearly he wanted to attempt that as well. But she didn’t know how exactly.

“Listen, Alice.” He paused as well. With a quick drink himself, he shook his head.

“Stop.” Alice leaned forward, putting her wine glass down. With one arm on the table and the other propped up, cupping her face, she shook her head as well. “Me first. I talked to Ron last night. He seemed to think you were right in what you did. I don’t necessarily agree with him,” she added instantly, “but a lot of what he said was true. Whether I like it or not, no matter how much the men trust me, I’m always going to be one or two bad decisions away from no one taking me seriously, or trusting me in combat. No matter how much I absolutely despise what you did, at least it had the benefit of stopping the rumors.”

Nixon didn’t respond right away. He just watched her carefully. To be honest, even she wasn’t sure if what she’d said would make things better or worse, and by his hesitant reactions, neither did he. But finally he spoke up. “I should’ve asked you.”

“No shit.” Her gaze moved over the small crowd that had gathered. With graceful ease, Millie danced with the soldier, and a few other women with their own men. Then she turned back to Nixon. Pulling out a cigarette, she lit it before talking. “Listen. I understand why you did what you did, or at least now that Ron laid it out for me, I do. You did what it took to help win this war. I would do anything to make sure the Allies win. But even knowing that, even understanding why you decided to go behind my back… it doesn’t make it easier to accept.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” He leaned back in his chair, slumped ever so slightly. He paused, turning away back into the pub, searching for someone. Still not looking at her, he spoke again. “For what it’s worth, Alice, I am sorry.”

She met his gaze when he turned back. For a moment, words wouldn’t form. Honestly she hadn’t expected to hear those words come from Lewis Nixon, even in this instance. If they both shared one trait, it was a hatred for being wrong… and stubbornness, too. 

Alice felt her chest constrict, an odd sensation. She continued to hold his gaze without speaking. The honesty in his apology was palpable. He really did feel remorse for his actions. Internally, her mind and her heart fought out their own little war over whether or not she could bring herself to forgive him.

She settled on a simple thank you. “I appreciate that, Nix. I really do.”

With a small smirk, he nodded. Nixon didn’t say anything else at first. But then he leaned forward and pointed to the dance floor. “Think you could set me up with your hostess?”

Alice actually laughed. It occurred to her afterwards that she hadn’t really laughed in far too long. Based on the grin it spawned from Nixon, he knew it too. She shook her head. “First of all, no. Second, definitely no.”

“Fine.” He stood from the table, lifting his drink to his lips. After a large sip, he turned back to her, away from watching the dancing couples. “You still owe me a dance, by the way. From New Year’s.”

She didn’t say anything, and just smirked ever so slightly as he winked and moved away further into the bar. For a moment, she wondered where Dick, and almost certainly Harry, had set up in the bar. Part of her wanted to follow. But when Millie called her over from the dance floor, she turned away from watching the crowd and just shook her head. She raised her glass to the woman. Hopefully Aldbourne would continue to offer her some small amount of healing.


	41. Chapter Forty One

**January 3, 1944**

  
Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, the soldiers received a brief leave from training. For Alice, it was a welcome relief. The few months they’d been in training had left her drained and unhappy. Going from training maneuvers to classroom lectures constantly meant very few hours for relaxation. What brief time she did have, Alice had spent mostly with Gene or George. Once a week Alice made sure to have drinks with Nixon, Harry, and Dick. 

The four lieutenants saw each other frequently in training. The classroom lectures Alice led continued to include french lessons, while also introducing information about the French Underground and what Alice knew of the other countries’ resistance organizations. In the Maquis, she’d frequently been a runner with information between cells, as women had never been suspected as traitors to the Nazis as much as men in France. Through her traveling and passing of information, she’d been exposed to code names and details of the Dutch, German, and Polish movements.

When training resumed after the break, Alice felt a bit more refreshed, having spent some time in London with Millie and Madeleine, while visiting their middle sister Maggie. The few days around the turn of the New Year had been spent with her officer friends, though. Those days combined with the break from the army in general had done wonders.

Still, the men in her lecture were driving her crazy. Alice stood at the front of the moderately sized wooden hall that had been built for large scale meetings. Huge empty windows let in the nice breeze of the chilly winter in Aldbourne, but even that wasn’t enough to keep the men awake and focused. Alice had never known the 506th to be quite so inattentive in lessons.

The chalkboard behind her featured meticulously drawn sketches of Karabiner 98k guns, one without sniper modification and one with the sights improved. The French resistance in the Alps had utilized the K98k on more than one occasion, and Alice would always speak highly of the sniper variant.

But even as she continued to speak about the differences in the Nazi gun to the one the Americans trained with, Alice watched the sergeants gathered before her slipping away. To her left she could feel Nixon preparing for his lecture that would follow hers, a discussion on various munitions they would encounter in Europe. Her irritation grew. 

“Knowing how to utilize these weapons could save your life,” she mentioned again. Hoping to salvage the lesson, Alice tried to appeal to their senses. “You do not need to like me, or trust me, but you do need to know how to save the life of the man to your left and to your right.”

Some of the men nodded along with her, dutifully taking notes. But the others chatted in veiled whispers about their recent exploits on leave or their plans for that night. Heat rose to her ears as she felt herself getting angrier. Her gaze flickered over the sergeants of the paratrooper corps before her. Finally her sights fell on Easy. 

She saw Ranney, Harris, Lipton, Guarnere, Martin, Talbert, Randleman, and Grant all sitting, watching her. Lip, Johnny, and Bull seemed the most attentive, their pencils scribbling across their notebooks. Ranney and Harris had never been particularly close with her, but they were certainly paying attention. Both Tab and Grant sat watching. But her attention fell on Guarnere.

His jaw clenched in anger. Alice wondered what had him in a tizzy. Alice didn’t give herself much time to think, however, turning back to her lecture. Still, she watched Guarnere with her peripheral vision.

“All of occupied Europe is filled with K98ks. When we go to Europe, you will find that the resistance cells are extremely familiar with them. So if you ask us for weapons, you will receive these.” 

Alice bit her cheek as her eyes fell on a group from H and I company snickering in the back. With a huff, she turned around to the board. Nixon caught her gaze. With a tiny shrug, she began writing several french, german, and dutch words on the board in chalk. 

“I want you each to find out the locations of these six towns before the next lecture you have with me. Until then, I believe First Lieutenant Nixon is your next instructor."

When she walked to the side, Nixon met her half way. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “This’ll wake them up,” he said. 

With a small wink, he lowered his gaze to his left hand at his side. Alice raised her brow as she saw what he held. In his grip lay a stick of TNT. 

Nixon smirked again. “Lighter?” 

Without hesitation, Alice reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her smooth, silver lighter. He took it. With unbelievable, almost practiced nonchalance, Lewis Nixon lit the fuse on the TNT. He lobbed it between the three dozen benches, down the center aisle. The steady hiss and pop of the fuse burning echoed through the air.

Then shouts and curses drowned it out. Men scrambled up, most as far to the edges of the lecture hall as possible, but a few to the explosive itself. Alice watched as Easy Company’s sergeants and a few from Able pushed through the crowd. Guarnere got to it first.

He grabbed the TNT. Guarnere flung it out the nearest gap window. Someone screamed warnings, Alice thought maybe Ranney or Lipton. The men continued to duck until seven beats later, a deeply visceral bang broke the air around them. Then absolute silence reigned.

“My lecture is postponed until the end of the day. For the next hour you will run the course around the training grounds.” Nixon glared at them. “Report back here at 2130 hours and be prepared to pay attention this time. The only ones exempt from this are Sergeants Guarnere, Lipton, Ranney, DiAmato, Bishop, and Harper. Your quick actions saved the other men, so. Enjoy your sleep.”

The men, standing in small groups, stared at him open mouthed. Nixon didn’t waste a single beat before picking his way over and around the overturned benches towards the main door at the far end. Alice hurried after him. She had to suppress a smirk at the enraged and shocked men around her.

“That was an interesting new learning technique.” Alice let her smirk grow as the door closed behind them. Dozens of soldiers had stopped, gathered around the sizable ditch in the ground to their left as they walked down the path towards more of the training grounds.

Nixon didn’t look at her. But his own smile said everything without words. Over the almost three months since arriving in Aldbourne, they’d fallen back into an easy friendship. Being forced to work together even more in intelligence had necessitated it, even if they hadn’t wanted to forgive each other, which of course they had.

“Sink might get mad about the sudden hole, though,” she added.

Nixon snickered. He glanced over his shoulder back where the men began pouring out of Lecture Hall C. They and he all looked at the dirt crater. “The British are probably used to holes in the ground.”

“Nix!”

Without anything but a small smirk, Nixon shrugged. They strolled together down the gravel path until they came to the village itself. Moose Heyliger and another lieutenant had been leading the men of Easy besides the non-coms in advanced bayonet training, but Harry had been given the day off. They hoped to find him near where Regimental Headquarters had been set up.

Find him they did. For the few remaining hours of daylight, they shared drinks and compared notes on the exploits, achievements, and struggles of the enlisted under Easy. At 2100 hours, Nixon left to go redo his munitions and explosives lecture, and Harry went to bed. With a yawn, Alice split from him in the main street of Aldbourne. To her surprise, she saw Guarnere exiting one of the local shops, counting his British money in one hand and gripping three more packs of cigarettes in the other.

The consistent heated anger she felt seeing him flared up in her again, but less so than before that day. Six men had gone for the TNT stick. Six men, but it had been Bill Guarnere who had actually managed to grab it and throw it clear. That meant something, it meant a lot. She knew her anger with Guarnere had ceased being justified months ago.

Somewhere in the days following the incidents on the Samaria, her heart had begun to blame Guarnere for her assault. If she hadn’t been off her guard and on her own away from them, she’d never have wandered into the G, H, and I section of the boat. Perhaps if her emotions had been more in check, she’d have fought back instead of becoming overwhelmed from anxiety and terror.

Of course, she had quickly come to remind herself how unfair those judgements were. Nonetheless, her body began to tie Guarnere and the assault together, and she’d found it incredibly difficult to move past his stupid mistake because of that.

Seeing him immediately, without any moment of hesitation, not only prepared to put his life in danger to save the rest of the noncommissioned officers, but actually do just that, jolted her back to reality. Bill Guarnere, though a brash, loud, sometimes obnoxious and fairly frequently offensive young man, also had a brave, staunch heart of gold.

“Hey, Guarnere,” she called. When he turned to her, she winced back at his wide eyes and brief pause. Alice strode over, hands in her pockets reaching for a cigarette and a lighter. “Hey, thanks for making sure we didn’t blow up today.” 

“Nixon’s fucking nuts,” he muttered. But a tiny smirk spread across his face. “Honestly I didn’t think he had it in him. Throwin’ that TNT, what a ballsy move.” He turned to her as he pulled out his own cigarette from his new pack. Stuffing away his british currency, he tried to find a lighter.

“Here.” Alice lit his white cigarette.

“Thanks.”

She strolled next to him in a somewhat awkward silence. Her mind hadn’t planned out what to say past her opening compliment. Clearly he hadn’t been prepared either.

“If only he’d tossed the TNT down Sobel’s shorts,” she decided to add. 

Instantly Guarnere’s expression morphed into a strange mix of fury and amusement. He scoffed around his cigarette, taking it out and blowing a smoke cloud. “Fucking right. Goddamn Sobel is a liability. He’s gonna get us all wiped out on day one. Whenever day one is.”

“Well, we’ve still got Welsh and Winters and Heyliger isn’t bad.” Alice shrugged. “And Nixon’s still around in some capacity. He’s got a soft spot for Easy.”

He snorted. Then he shook his head again.“Yeah but Sobel’s still in charge. I don’t know. I ain’t got a clue of how to defend my men from their own goddamn commander.”

Alice agreed. “Yeah. Yeah.” Her deep sigh saw a cloud of white smoke tangle around the air in front of her and into her face as she kept walking forward. Their path had veered them down the lanes that Alice took to head home to the Bratt household each night. 

“Just glad I don’t have to sit through one of Nixon’s lectures this late at night,” he muttered. “Tab’s gonna be pissed.”

They came to the row of houses that Millie’s home sat on. With a scoff and a nod, she paused at the sidewalk. “Well, stay out of trouble, yeah?”

Guarnere shook his head and smirked. “Since when have I caused any trouble, Lieutenant?”

She turned around at the door into the house. A small smile graced her features as she looked at Guarnere smoking beneath the light of the lamppost at the street. With a quick shake of her head, she turned away. But as she unlocked the door, Alice glanced back. Guarnere had started back down the road.

  
“Bill. Stay out of trouble, please.”

He turned around and looked at her in surprise. But he took out his cigarette. Nodding, Bill Guarnere winked before turning away. As Alice watched him recede down the street into the dark night, she shivered slightly. The cold crept in. Stamping out her cigarette beside the front door, Alice took a sharp, deep breath. New year, new beginning, perhaps.


	42. Chapter Forty Two

**May 1944**

  
Fury coursed through Alice’s veins as she slammed the door to Nixon’s office in the Regimental quarters. To call it an office was stretching the truth; they’d managed to fit a desk in a walk in closet. But she hadn’t needed more than a closet door to slam her anger. Her boots pounded the wooden stairs as she hurried down to street level. 

Don’t do anything stupid, she’d told Bill back in January. Alice hadn’t known she should’ve said that to literally every boy in Easy Company. Since the New Year began, the men of her company had managed to make poorer and poorer decisions until it came to a head a week ago when George Luz had pissed Sobel off enough to make the man take it out on the entire company.

Except he’d not really taken it out on the entire company. He’d taken it out on Dick Winters. As Alice’s boots hit grass, she felt her blood pulsing. She’d thought the stupidity would’ve ended with Sobel, though. But no, no of course it hadn’t. But she’d not expected Richard Winters, of all people, to be the one to take stupidity one step further. He’d asked for a court martial trial. That would’ve been fine if it hadn’t left Easy Company without its best officer so close to the inevitable invasion of Europe.

Her meeting with Nixon hadn’t lasted ten minutes. They’d both been angry at Dick, and they’d both agreed to figure out a way to get him back. Nixon would look into talking to Sink and Strayer. Alice though, she had other plans before talking to Sink.

She didn’t bother to knock on the repurposed barn used as Easy’s enlisted base. Dirt and some stray straw littered the floor as she threw the door open. Without a second thought, she rounded a corner. Around a table, the eight noncommissioned officers of Easy Company passed papers to Lipton. At her entrance, they startled.

“Lieutenant!” choked Talbert through his canteen.

Alice paused. With narrowed eyes, she scanned the men before her. They fell silent. Her eyes rested on a small pile of papers in Lip’s hands. “What are you doing?” Their continued silence made her pause. “Lip, give me those.”

Lipton sighed. Pushing back his chair, he walked over and met Alice halfway. He handed them over. Everyone watched Alice read the top one.

“We ain’t jumping with Sobel,” Guarnere declared.

Alice bit her lip and let her hand, which held the resignations, fall to her side. Her left hand went to her hip. “Honestly, the stupidity of Easy Company never ceases. First Platoon making Sobel actively look like a fool, Dick deciding he’d rather be court martialed than take another punishment, and now this?”

“This is something that’s been a long time coming,” Johnny argued immediately. He stood up and circled the table until he stood closer to her. Then he leaned against it, half sitting half standing. Johnny gestured to the papers. “You know he’s going to get a lot of men killed.”

Alice shook her head. Her gaze wandered between all eight of them. Johnny Martin, Bull Randleman, Carwood Lipton, Bill Guarnere, Myron Ranney, Terrence Harris, Floyd Talbert, and Chuck Grant, the first line of defense between the rest of Easy and the incompetence of Sobel’s leadership, stared back at her.

“Yes, yes he is. But a mutiny?”

Grant scoffed. “Come on, Lieutenant. Since when did you care about army regulations when it comes to safety.”

Alice glanced at him. She frowned. “I would do anything to win this war. You going against your army protocols isn’t my issue. It’s that by doing so, you could be leaving this company, your company, without some of its best men not a few days after losing its best officer.”

“What would you have us do, then,” Harris argued. He folded his arms over his chest. “Keep going like nothing’s wrong? We’ve done that for two years now.”

“Not this!” She waved the papers in the air. “At least not until Nixon and I have a chance to put out the fires first.”

“We can’t wait, Lieutenant,” Harris disagreed. Ranney spoke up in agreement, and the others just nodded. 

Surprised to see Lipton agreeing with them, Alice turned to him. “Lip?”

He sighed. “If we do nothing, and we jump, a lot of men will die and that’s on us. If we do this, and we get removed, a lot of men will die and we’ll at least have tried our best.” Silence met his words. But he continued on. “Or, if we do this and don’t get removed, maybe we can get Sobel out.”

Her own pounding blood filled her ears. The fury she felt looking at the men before her soon fully morphed into a mix of fear and a strange sense of pride. These men knew they could die for this. They needed to do this.

“Well.” Alice shook her head and bit her lip. Taking a few seconds to look at them, she nodded. “Fine. You could be shot for this. They might kill you.”

“We know,” said Bill.

Alice nodded. “Well, you may be willing to die here, but I’m not. If and when I die in this war, it’ll be on my home soil. So I know absolutely nothing about what happened here. Clear?”

“Yes ma’am,” Bill agreed. He smirked back at her, plopping a lit cigarette in his mouth. 

Without even saying goodbye, she placed the letters in Lipton’s hands and walked away. Seared into her brain were the eyes of the men looking back at her. Even as she turned from them, she said a small prayer that the angel of death would pass over them.

A few hours later, when Alice followed Millie to the door, she felt her stomach drop. Sergeant Evans stood there, straight faced. Millie moved away with a snappy retort.

“Sergeant?” Alice asked.

“Colonel Sink wants to see you, Lieutenant. Immediately.”

Alice nodded. She pulled on the dress coat over her button down shirt and followed him to the street. A jeep sat waiting. Alice sat in the passenger seat. It roared away down the road moments later.

Soon, Regimental came into view. The massive estate reared up in front of them. On the left, she found Dick Winters finishing a delivery inventory. Alice held his gaze for a moment as the jeep parked. She offered him a salute. He returned it.

“Colonel Sink’s office is-”

“I know the way, Sergeant Evans,” Alice assured him, voice harsh. “Thank you for the ride.”

Without waiting for him to respond, she walked up the red brick steps into the side door of the estate building. The warm breeze of May ruffled her hair as she opened the door. The usual hustle and bustle of Regimental Headquarters sounded beyond it. When she opened it, she found Nixon chatting with Harry and Moose in the hall by Sink’s door.

“He called you in, too, huh,” Harry muttered. “Any idea why?”

Alice huffed. “Some.” 

She crossed her arms and refused to say anything else. Moments later, when Major Strayer opened the door to Sink’s office, Alice watched his expression. He seemed more pensive than anything. Alice followed Nix, Harry, and Moose Heyliger inside.

“Your NCOs have put me in quite a bind, Lieutenants.” Colonel Sink half-sat, leaning against his desk. With arms across his chest, he all but scowled at them as they stood at attention. He shook his head.

“Sir?” Nixon asked.

Sink twisted to pick up a piece of paper off his desk. He sighed. “I hereby no longer wish to serve as a Non-Commissioned officer in Easy Company. Signed… well signed every single one of the noncoms except First Sergeant Evans.” He waved the letter with his hand. “No what in the name of God is this all about!”

“Permission to speak freely?” Nixon asked after a brief moment of silence.

Sink nodded. “Granted.”

“This company has known that Captain Sobel is a liability and a fool since Toccoa, sir. Only now that Winters is out of the picture and with the invasion approaching, they realize they’re gonna die under that man.” 

“Captain Sobel shaped Easy Company, Lieutenant Nixon,” Sink argued.

“Lieutenant Nixon’s right,” added Harry. “Colonel, I’ve served under a lot of men. He doesn’t deserve to lead.”

Sink bit his cheek. Then he turned to the man on the end. “Heyliger?”

“Captain Sobel lacks the ability to navigate in the field sir.”

With a huff, he turned to Alice. “I can see you biting your tongue, Klein. Thoughts?”

“Permission to speak candidly, sir?”

“Granted.”

Alice bit her lip. Then she gestured towards the closed door they’d come from. “Captain Sobel would’ve been shot by his own men if he’d been with us in the resistance. He wouldn’t have lasted six months. He’s a liability.” With a sigh, she shook her head.

“Major?”

They all turned to Major Strayer. He’d been silent thus far, standing in the corner near the door and watching them carefully. His raspy voice broke the tension after several long pauses. “I’m inclined to believe them.”  
  
Silence fell around them. Colonel Sink watched them all with intense scrutiny. His gaze traveled between the lieutenants and Major Strayer, and finally to the door behind them. He shook his head. “I’ll see what we can do. Get the hell out of my office. I don’t want to see you four in here any time soon.”

They all saluted. The last thing they heard when exiting the office was Colonel Sink ordering Strayer to send a runner for Captain Sobel. Moose Heyliger split from them, but Alice, Nix, and Harry all went for drinks. They found a pub not far into town and set up at a table.

When Alice spotted Dick Winters a few hours later enter the bar, she sipped at her second drink and groaned over her most recent poker loss. “Hey, look!”

“Dick, over here,” Nixon called.

Picking his way over to where they sat near an open window, he looked happier than they’d seen him in weeks, or even months. Alice sat up straighter. She narrowed her eyes. “What’s new?”

“I don’t know what you did, but Sobel’s gone.” Dick grinned as they all stared at him in silence. No one moved. He just tapped Harry, the one closest to him, on the cheek twice and laughed. “Clearly you didn’t know, then.”

“He’s gone?” Nixon repeated.

“Been transferred to some new jump school to be in charge.” Dick slipped into the last chair. “We’re free of him.”

Alice grinned and took a huge gulp of her wine. Slamming it back on the table, she leaned towards him. “So you’re in charge now, right?”

“Not quite,” Dick replied, amused. He shook his head. “Lieutenant Meehan is next in line. He’ll be taking over Easy.”

And take over Easy he did. In the few instances she’d met Lieutenant Thomas Meehan, he’d been cordial, polite, and genuinely interested in her life in France. In the week after he took over Easy Company, Alice watched in glee as he learned the name of every single enlisted man in his new outfit. He spoke highly of Easy Company even when he first came in from Baker. Easy’s reputation preceded it.

He’d spent a night having dinner with the other officers, including both Nixon and Alice, despite neither of them leading a platoon. Alice liked him instantly, and knew they’d be in good hands. But not three days after the dinner the lieutenants had shared, and Moose Heyliger had been transferred out of Easy for another company. In his place, she read the name Lieutenant Lynn Compton on the transfer papers. Her heart sank. Yet another new platoon leader for her to have to acclimate to. Or, more accurately, yet another new platoon leader that would have to acclimate to her.


	43. Chapter Forty Three

Another morning spent with Battalion Intelligence, another lunch taken alone. Alice sighed as she grabbed her tray from the Corporal who pulled KP duty. Nixon had been required to report to a second meeting in Intelligence. Dick, Harry, and Meehan had run a maneuver the last of those had decided Easy needed more work on. So with no one else to talk to, Alice slipped into a table near the back of the small mess hall they used.

Swirling the less than appetizing soup with her spoon, she frowned. The current estimation by Battalion for the invasion was two more weeks. The men didn’t know any of that, just rumors floating around of the ever-nearing drop day. No official date had been set, though. Alice felt a pit form in her stomach every time her mind wandered to the invasion.

On the one hand, going back to France meant going home at last. But a nagging voice in her head kept reminding her that it had been two years since she’d been home, and quite possible it wouldn’t look like the home she remembered. Add to that the fact that jumping into France meant she’d lose some of her friends, and Alice didn’t know if she wanted it anymore. 

But she did. When she even considered the idea of not going back, anger and a deep depression replaced the apprehension. In the end, it didn’t matter what she wanted. The invasion of France would be happening no matter what, with herself as a part of it.

That morning, those officers involved with Intelligence, herself included, had been told of the decision to move the paratroopers to Upottery by the end of the week. That gave about three days. They’d tell the men tomorrow. She could feel her leg bumping up and down under the table as she continued to stare at her soup. But she couldn’t stop it.

“Can’t say the soup impresses me much, either.”

Alice glanced up to see who had spoken to her. She was met with a stranger: hair so blonde it put her own to shame, blue eyes, height to rival Dick Winters. He looked strong, his stance confident. He had Second Lieutenant’s bars. She must’ve looked confused, because he spoke up again.

“You’re Lieutenant Klein, right?”

“Yes.”

He held out his hand. “Lieutenant Buck Compton. I just arrived. Colonel Sink told me to find you. Apparently everyone else is out in the field?”

Her spoon slipped into her soup as she realized this was the new lieutenant replacing Moose Heyliger. Alice shook his hand after looking down at the bowl. “Alice Klein.”

“Can I sit?”

She shrugged. “Sure.” As he did so, she grabbed the roll next to her soup and took a bite. She hadn’t wanted her soup anyways. Watching Compton sit down, she saw him hesitating. Alice smirked. “You can ask.”

“Ask?”

She didn’t dignify his thin lie with an answer. Instead, Alice just waited for him to continue. It didn’t take long.

“The Colonel told me about your job,” he admitted. Buck put his elbows on the table and watched her. “I’d rather here it straight from the source. Why are you here?”

“Me, me? Or me, as a woman?” 

“Both.”

“The answer’s the same for both,” Alice said. “I’m good at what I do. I’m a translator, a sniper, and heavily connected in the Resistance for France. I’ve got contacts in Germany I can call on, too. Germaine put my name forward and the Maquis agreed. So here I am.”

“Germaine?”

Alice shrugged. “We don’t know her real name. She’s an Allied spy, though she’s currently in hiding.”

Buck Compton nodded. He looked at her carefully. “And now you’re an American Paratrooper?”

“Congratulations, you can see my jump wings.”

Buck grinned. He leaned back off the table with a small laugh. “Okay, okay. What I meant was, why did they decide to let you into the paratroopers?”

“They didn’t. Not officially. Officially, I don’t exist.” Alice leaned back in her chair as well. She watched him carefully. With Harry, she’d connected almost immediately. This Buck Compton had a different personality, but she didn’t feel anything off with him.

“So that’s why the States don’t know about you. Makes sense. What do you do with Easy Company?”

“I’m a sort of liaison to Intelligence. I as a woman don’t command anyone officially, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Buck shook his head. “No, I’m not asking that. I just want to know what your place is, so I know when and what to ask you for.”

Alice sighed. “Sorry.”

He shrugged. “Don’t be.”

“A former officer of Easy Company, Lieutenant Nixon, and I are both in Intelligence. He’s still connected to the company, but does more with Battalion where as I do more with Easy itself.” 

“Makes sense.” He paused and glanced up as loud voices sounded outside the relatively quiet mess hall. “Any advice on the men?”

Alice smirked and shook her head. “Not really. Don’t be a jackass. Get to know them. They’re all very different kinds of people, but I trust them with my life.”

“High praise. But it’s good to hear. I trusted my teammates like that.”

“Teammates?”

Buck grinned as he shrugged, sitting in his chair comfortably. The mess hall became crowded with enlisted which he watched with interest. Finally, he leaned back into the table. “I’m an athlete. Did a lot of sports growing up, in college and all that. Before I joined up, we went all the way to the Rose Bowl.”

“Rose Bowl?”

With a chuckle, he explained further. “It’s a famous game for college football. Football, you know, where you throw this brown ball down the field and… No?”

“Clearly we don’t have the same in Europe,” she muttered. “Football is where you kick a black and white ball down a field to score goals. Les Bleus are our team.” 

Alice glanced up and saw the other officers of Easy Company grabbing their food. Waving them over, she nodded their way. Harry joined them first. He looked at Buck carefully.

“Lieutenant Buck Compton, Lieutenant Harry Welsh,” Alice said. “Heyliger’s replacement.”

“We go from a moose to a buck,” Harry joked. Setting his tray next to Alice, he slipped into the bench. Then he shook his hand. “What are the odds?”

“Moose?”

“Heyliger’s nickname,” explained Alice.

Dick joined them next. “You must be Lieutenant Compton?”

“The one and only.” Buck shook his hand as Dick introduced himself. “Any idea when I can meet Lieutenant Meehan?”

“He should be back at Battalion by the time we finish up here. I’ll show you the quickest way back.” 

They fell into easy conversation, though Alice opted to listen more than participate. She learned a lot about Buck. It surprised her how easily he talked about himself, and not in a bad way. He approached them openly, honestly. That sort of easy trust made her like him instantly.

Dick took the initiative to be Buck’s guide around Aldbourne that day, leaving Alice to her own devices. Harry had lectures to lead that day, Nixon holed himself up in his office, so in the end she just spent time with Millie, Percy, and Madeleine. It felt wonderful.

Over the next few days, she spent her days with the paratroopers and her nights with Millie. The woman grew more and more antsy over each day. Alice hadn’t been able to tell her they were jumping soon officially, but nothing could get past Millie. In the six months they’d lived together both had grown incredibly close. Percy called her Auntie Alice, and she had spent time teaching Madeleine French after each school day.

But at last it came to be the night before their move to the staging area at the Upottery airfield. Alice promised to say goodbye the next morning before the move, but Millie insisted they go out that night. She said it’d be good for both of them.

So in her nicest bright red dress, Alice stood before a mirror in Millie’s house, applying the last bit of makeup. Her hair had been curled in ringlets neatly to her shoulders. The fabric fell easily about her body, and when she twirled and moved, it danced with her. She nodded in satisfaction.

They decided on the club they’d been to their first night together. Two dozen soldiers at least moved about inside, likely trying to take advantage of their final day in beautiful Aldbourne. Alice didn’t see anyone from Easy. After they’d grabbed drinks and a table, though, a few men did join them.

“Fancy meeting you two here,” Nixon said with a wink. He turned around and flagged down the guys who’d come with him. “Hey! Harry, Buck, over here.”

Millie chuckled as she scooted over to make room for a fifth chair around their table. Before long, all three officers had slipped in. Buck made introductions with Millie. Conversation between Millie and Buck came easily, and soon the whole table chatted with each other.

An hour and several drinks later, Buck and Millie decided to dance as a particularly fun swing song came on the radio. Alice watched them in amusement, her wine glass just resting against her closed lips, forgotten.

“That’s a nice smile,” Harry joked. “Millie is quite the character.”

“I love her,” Alice agreed, laughing. “I’ll miss her and the family.”

“Any idea when we’re jumping?”

Nixon broke in with a smirk. “Now Harry, we could tell you, but then we’d have to kill you.”

He just scoffed. Getting up to grab another drink, Harry left Alice and Nixon at the table. They were quiet for a bit. The song had changed to yet another good dancing one. Nixon turned to her.

“You owe me a dance, you know.”

Alice rolled her eyes and turned to Nixon. “You’re asking for it now? A year and a half later?”

“Oh come on, we could die in a week. If I’m going to die, I’d like the dance first.” He just chuckled as she looked at him more carefully.

“You’re not going to die,” she stated flatly. “Don’t talk like that.”

“We might-”

“No, Nix. You’re not going to die.” She looked away, trying to hide her frown with a drink of her wine. Her heart beat rapidly at the thought of any of them dying. But the thought of Nixon dying hurt her even more deeply.

He didn’t say anything right away. The music changed again, slowing, and the steadily growing crowd of couples danced slow along with it. Finally, he turned back to her. “Come on. One dance, before we both don’t die.”

Turning back to him, she saw he was serious. With another frown, she considered saying no. But he was right; she did owe him a dance. So she stood and joined him on the dance floor. As the music filled the room, they danced.

Nixon led well. She guessed he’d had plenty of lessons as a child, given his family’s wealth and prestige. It didn’t take long before she was smiling again. His voice a whisper, he would make snide comments about the other dancers, especially Buck Compton, and it took all her strength not to break down in tears of laughter. 

When the song started winding down, Alice came to the startling realization that she didn’t want to let go of his hand. She wanted to stay in that moment forever. Two years and plenty of both wonderful and hurtful moments later, she realized she felt safe around Nixon, safer than maybe with anyone else. 

And then she remembered he had a wife. Alice broke apart immediately, the song ending. She played it off well, not wanting him to realize what she felt. Even if Nixon’s marriage was arranged, and rocky at the best of times, she knew they couldn’t cross those lines. She wouldn’t cross those lines.

“You’re a good dancer,” she decided to say. “Plenty of lessons as a kid?”

Nixon laughed. “Something like that.”

They took their seats back at the table, Harry waiting for them. He looked between them curiously, but made no comment. It took another half an hour for Millie and Buck to come back over, laughing and chatting like old friends. No one wanted the night to end. 

But it did. 


	44. Chapter Forty Four

**June 4th, 1944**

_RAF Airfield, Upottery, England_

The past five days had been endless meetings and briefings. The days of physical training gone, instead the focus remained on memorizing the plan for the invasion. Nixon had been the one to outline the plan, called Operation Overlord, for the officers of the 506th. Alice had then helped Meehan explain it to Easy. Simply put, the American paratroopers would jump into Normandy.

Normandy. Ever since learning that Normandy had been confirmed officially as the invasion point, she’d been in a state of general displeasure. It got to the point where very few people willingly approached her. Speirs didn’t care at all, and spent two nights joining her for a smoking break at the end of the day of work. Nixon, too, sought her out when he could. Of the enlisted, George and Gene were least intimidated by her sour mood.

But as the morning dawned on June 4th, her snappy edge only increased. They’d be getting in the airplanes to jump that night, at 2300 hours. No more waiting, no more hesitation. No more chances to apologize, to change her actions. That last realization hit her hardest. 

Though she and Bill Guarnere had returned to being friends, to laughing and joking, Alice had never quite been able to shake her hesitation, her borderline fear, of letting Guarnere get close again. Friends, but not family, she reasoned with herself. And as she looked over the massive tarmac airfield of the Royal Air Force, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon, she knew that needed to change. And, as much as it terrified her, the only way she saw it changing was if she told Guarnere exactly what she’d been feeling.

The men had the day off until noon, when they’d begin jump preparations. Even as Alice walked through the rows of C-47 aircraft, their massive frames casting shadows that stretched almost endlessly, she tried to calm her jittering nerves. How she felt more scared to talk to Bill Guarnere about how hurt she’d been than she felt jumping into enemy occupied Normandy almost made her laugh. But she didn’t.

Easy Company had been grouped by squads and platoons. They each had a tent, some sleeping bags, and that was about it. Her feet hit the mushy grass as she left the air strip. Rows upon rows of endless tents loomed in front of her. She steered in the direction of Second Platoon.

A mixture of relief and fear crashed over her as she found Guarnere standing outside his tent, smoking with Johnny Martin and George Luz. Johnny just shook his head as the other two snickered over something. 

“Good morning,” Alice said, voice shaking ever so slightly.

“Hey, morning Lieutenant,” teased George. “Thought we’d go another day with you holed up with the other officers.”

Alice huffed. Shaking her head, she shuffled in place a few feet from them. “How are you feeling?”

“Ready to shoot some krauts,” Guarnere joked.

Johnny rolled his eyes. Nevertheless, the tiniest of smiles betrayed his amusement. “The men are ready, Alice. Are you happy to be going home?”

“Only took you two years,” said George.

She hummed for a moment. “I’m not sure, to be honest. We won’t find France the way I’d like to find it, I’m sure.” Then she hesitated. “I don’t mean to interrupt your early morning chat. But, Bill, I need you to come with me.”

They all looked at her in confusion. But he didn’t object, just shrugged. Alice led the way back towards the air strip. As soon as her feet hit the tarmac, she paused. The sun had risen a bit more, and soldiers had started meandering about.

“What’s up?” he asked.

Alice sighed. She turned to him, arms across her chest. “I want to say something, and I want you to keep your mouth shut until I’m done. Okay?”

“Yeah, right, fine.” 

Plopping a cigarette in her mouth, Alice frowned again. She looked away. “I wanted to apologize. What happened on the Samaria with Liebgott and I, it was bad. It pissed me off. God, I hated you for it.” Her thoughts drifted back to the past September, and the betrayal she’d felt hearing the anti-semitic slurs come from one of her best friends. “But, I let my anger go on too long. I just, I wanted to explain why I avoided you for so long. Because if I don’t explain this, I’ll never get over it.”

Bill watched her closely. His brown eyes followed her every move as she shuffled and fidgeted. Alice didn’t know how to say what needed to be said without making him angry, or hurt, and she knew it.

“Right. I guess… for a long time after I was uh, attacked, all I could think about was that if I hadn’t been angry at you, I wouldn’t have wandered off alone. And if I hadn’t wandered off alone in areas of the Samaria with people who didn’t really know me, I wouldn’t have been…” Her voice caught in her throat. Though at first she hadn’t been able to recall the assault, she’d since had those memories surface. “Anyways. So for months when I saw you I saw the reason I’d been attacked, and so what should've been easily fixed just…”

Alice turned to him again. He made absolutely no response. Instead, “Wild Bill” Guarnere just stood with a cigarette hanging out his mouth, hands in his paratrooper pants’ pockets. 

“It’s not your fault, though. It never was, it was mine. I didn’t fight back. I should’ve fought back. If I’d fought back-”

“Stop.”

“What?”

Bill watched her carefully. He turned his body to face her straight on. As the sun draped the airfield in golden hues, he just watched her. Finally, he spoke again. “It ain’t your fault. So you need to stop thinking that right now.”

“I fought back, I got Marc killed. But then I didn’t fight back…” Alice trailed off. Tears filled her eyes. These she couldn’t stop, and before long they spilled over, staining her cheeks. “God, I’m sorry.” She hid her face in her hands.

“Alice, stop. It was those fuckin’ bastards from H company. It ain’t your fault.” Bill shook his head. “I’m sorry, okay? About what I said back there. I know I never said it straight. But I am. I can’t believe… Jesus Christ, Alice. I didn’t…”

Getting ahold of herself again, she shook her head. “It’s not your fault, the way I reacted and twisted what happened. That was me, not you. I know, despite you being a jackass sometimes. I know you don’t watch your language. You don’t think-”

“I get the point.”

“But I know despite that, despite all that, I know you didn’t actually mean to hurt me. Or that’s what I choose to believe. But I think I’m right.”

“Fucking hell, of course you’re right.” Bill shook his head. “Damnit, Alice.”

Alice shook her head. “I just. Since we’re jumping, and… well you never know… I mean… I guess I needed to say this.”

Bill Guarnere didn’t even hesitate as he threw his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. After a split second hesitation, she accepted. They stood still for a minute, a shadow of the wing of a C-47 covering them amidst the bright morning. For the first time in days, they had clear skies.

But later that day, everything changed. Around three in the afternoon, when the men started packing and checking their supplies, the skies clouded over. Still, they had high hopes for a change in weather. At four, Alice made her way over to where Sergeant Evans had them filling out life insurance.

Alice didn’t know if she qualified. No one in her family remained to benefit from ten thousand dollars upon her death. But since Evans didn’t know if she qualified either, she decided to fill one out anyways. It only took her a moment to figure out who to leave the money too. 

She made it out to the Luz family. 

Signing and dating it, she handed the GI Life Insurance Policy back over to the First Sergeant. He’d become markedly less annoying since Sobel’s removal mere weeks ago. With a nod to him, Alice made her way back over to where Easy prepared to jump.

When she reached the men, Alice heard the tailend of Joe Toye ranting. Apparently he wanted brass knuckles. Why anyone would want more weight than they’d already been forced to carry, she couldn’t imagine. Then again, Toye had always been a bit on the crazy side.

Finding a free space, she laid out her equipment. It only took a few minutes to count it all and confirm its completion. All the while, the men of Easy chatted around her. Though conversation seemed to come easily, Alice could detect the harsh hesitance in every voice. Malarkey’s sarcasm seemed to double, George Luz’s jokes turned more and more bitter, and Gene Roe quieted into absolute silence.

Alice left her excess equipment with Liebgott, Talbert, and Alley, and began to wander among the men. She saw Lipton doing the same thing. Before long, Private Vest wove in and out of Easy and Fox companies, handing out a single sheet of white paper to nearly every man. Alice wondered what it said, given the fact that recently they’d all been allowed to line up for ice cream.

“Here you go, ma’am,” Vest said. “Straight from Colonel Sink.”

Alice took the paper with a nod. Printed on it in greying, broken type, a message. Her heart caught in her throat.

_Soldiers of the regiment:_

_Today, and as you read this, you are en route to that great adventure for which you have trained for over two years._

_Tonight is the night of nights._

_Tomorrow throughout the whole of our homeland and the Allied world the bells will ring out the tidings that you have arrived, and the invasion for liberation has begun._

_The hopes and prayers of your dear ones accompany you, the confidence of your high commanders goes with you. The fears of the Germans are about to become a reality._

_Let us strike hard. When the going is tough, let us go harder. Imbued with faith in the rightness of our cause, and the power of our might, let us annihilate the enemy where found._

_May God be with each of you fine soldiers. By your actions let us justify His faith in us._

_Colonel Robert Sink Regimental Commander,_  
_506th P.I.R, 101st Airborne Division_

The world slowed. She heard Guarnere muttering nearby about ice cream, and she could hear the whirring of plane engines at the very far edge of the air strip. But her gaze stayed locked on the sheet of paper. It was real. They were jumping. A lot of men would die. Not just men, but friends. Not just friends, but family. Her family.

With reverence. Alice folded the letter into a small square. She stuck it in her breast pocket behind the fraying photo of her and her brothers. Her heart pounded. The planes loomed ahead of her. This was it. They would be going back to France. She would be going home, to a place foreign to her despite knowing it intimately. It was time.

Until Nixon found her, and told her the invasion was postponed for twenty-four hours. Just like that, as they all found out they wouldn’t be jumping, fatigue crashed into the companies. Alice sank to the ground on the edge of the airstrip. As most of the men filed into various recreational places to watch movies or play poker, she wanted to see the sun set over England again.

No glorious splash of color, nor bright sun sinking below the horizon, greeted her though. The cloud cover from the channel enveloped Upottery too, and so she only saw grey clouds turn into black clouds. Alice stayed where she was, face still covered in oil and paint. Heavy uniform and a hundred pounds of equipment still hung from her body. She sat on the tarmac at the edge of the grass, watching nothingness.

Alice didn’t even realize someone stood behind her until she smelled cigarette smoke hours later. When she turned around, it surprised her to find Bill Guarnere standing, looking out over the silent airplanes as well. Something about his stance concerned her, though. After a moment of taking him in in the darkness, she pushed herself to her feet. 

“Something’s wrong,” she said.

Guarnere looked at her, almost startled. That alone was enough to concern her. Alice stepped a bit closer. If she hadn’t known him better, she would’ve sworn he had tears in his eyes.

“What’s-”

Without saying anything he handed her a folded letter. She didn’t speak. Alice took it, unfolding it. Instantly she noticed it had been addressed to Johnny Martin, but she kept reading anyways. Very little in the letter was about Johnny or his wife, though. Instead, she saw the name Henry, followed by the words no one wanted to hear: Killed in Action.

Her heart broke. Alice glanced up at him, hesitating. She knew how close Bill felt to Henry. They’d been best friends. “I’m sorry-”

“Don’t say it.” He shook his head. “Just… just tell me we’re gonna make the kraut bastards pay.”

Alice bit her lip. But she nodded. “We will.”

“Me and you, when we get through the jump, we’re gonna toast your brothers and him. We’re gonna toast him with kraut drinks.”

“It’s a plan.”

With a nod, Bill Guarnere looked out over the silent, dark air field again. His jaw clenched, and he barely moved. Finally he nodded. Bill didn’t even say goodnight before walking away again. 

Left alone, Alice focused on her breathing. They’d not jumped and already they were hurting. She couldn’t even imagine what would happen when they did make the jump. And it would almost certainly be the next night. With a sigh, she tried to say a quick prayer. They’d need all the help they could get.


	45. Chapter Forty Five

Alice didn’t sleep more than a few hours. She got up before the sun on the morning of the fifth, wandering in and out of the silent aircraft. Originally, she’d been set to jump in Meehan’s plane, but that morning they’d shuffled the men around a bit. Instead, Sergeant Evans jumped in Meehan’s stick, and Alice would go with Harry Welsh’s men. It made her feel better, knowing she’d be jumping with Easy’s enlisted, not its Battalion officers and staff. 

But that was about the only thing she felt better about when she woke up the day they’d be jumping. In addition to the jittery fear she’d felt yesterday, now a deep despair had settled in her stomach. The slight excitement had disappeared. Instead it’d been replaced with pure anxiety.

Two members of Easy had her more worried than others: Bill Guarnere and Gene Roe. The former needed to sort his anger and sadness out on his own, but Alice had noticed Gene becoming more and more distant, even more than usual, since their move to Aldbourne and especially Upottery, and it worried her. She wanted to talk to him before the jump.

This time, when the afternoon came and the men prepared their equipment, they were met with brilliant blue skies without a single cloud, and a bright sun to light their way. Most of them got ready in silence. In contrast to the previous day, where they’d been attempting to keep the mood light with jokes and banter, they seemed to have all lost that desire now that the jump was yet again approaching. 

Alice left her pack with the others in her plane, and wandered in her full gear around the 506th’s staging ground. Lieb had cut her hair the day before, so it just barely peeked out from under her helmet. Moving through D company, she tried to find Ron. Finally she caught sight of him a bit away from the others, standing beneath the plane wing near the body of the C-47. He stood smoking, staring down at a letter.

“Are you ready?” Alice asked. Picking her way through a pile of Dog’s Second Platoon packs, she moved next to him. “And your men?”

“Ready as they’ll ever be,” he muttered. Glancing up from the letter, he folded it back up and stuck it in a pocket. “You?”

She took a cigarette he offered. Pulling out her lighter, she let the flame get the smoke going before answering. “There’s no going back now.”

“You wouldn’t go back for any reason even if it was an option, Alice.”

“Yeah, yeah you’re right.”

Ron shrugged. He looked over his men who stood talking in hushed tones, or rifling through packs and adjusting weapons. Then he turned back to her. “And Easy?”

Alice breathed deeply through her nose. She also stared out over the airfield, over the thousands of paratroopers crowding the tarmac. “They’re ready.”

“Good. Then there won’t be any problems.”

Her frown grew at his statement. “You better not die before we meet up in Normandy, Ron, or I’ll kill you myself.”

“Die?” He grinned, a rare occurrence in recent months. But clearly the idea of dying had him amused. “Those bastards will all wish I’d stayed here in England, Alice.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I don’t doubt it. But I’m serious.”

He didn’t respond as she backed away to head to Easy Company. He just shrugged, still smiling. When she turned away, she felt marginally better. Ron’s cocky attitude helped calm her nerves. 

Alice found Skip Muck, Don Malarkey, and Alex Penkala sitting together when she reached Easy. She moved over to them. The usually rambunctious trio sat quietly.

“Your gear ready?” Alice asked them.

“Hey, Lieutenant.” Skip nodded. “All packed up and ready to go on vacation.” Sarcasm practically dripped from his words. 

Alice forced a smile. “You three be careful, ok? I don’t want to hear that you did something stupid when we land.”

“Stupid? Us?” Alex asked.

“No, just you, Penk,” Malarkey teased.

With a laugh, Alice left them alone. She continued through the men of Easy, saying quick hellos and sharing well wishes with anyone she considered herself close to. But she was looking for several men in particular. She found two of them together, joking around more than she expected.

“No, Lieb, I’m not letting you give me a goddamn mohawk,” Talbert said, laughing. He moved away as Liebgott pointed scissors at him. Then he caught sight of Alice. “Hey! Everyone’s favorite lieutenant. What are you up to?”

Alice let herself smile at his joke. “Everyone’s favorite? Pretty sure that’s Dick Winters.”

“Ok, fine. Everyone’s favorite female lieutenant.”

Liebgott laughed. “You want a mohawk, Alice?”

Talbert rolled his eyes, but Alice just shook her head with a light laugh. She sighed and stood between them. Shifting her helmet off, Alice ran a hand through her hair. “No thank you! This is already short enough.”

“Looks fucking fantastic if I do say so myself,” Lieb said.

“Which you do.”

“Damn right I do.”

Alice laughed. But then she grew a bit more serious. “You two better stay safe, alright? I better see you at the rally point.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Talbert agreed. He saluted. “Same goes for you, though. Don’t go on some stupid hero quest.”

“It’s a deal. Lieb?”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about us,” Lieb assured her.

Alice nodded. With a last, lingering look at her two friends, she sighed. “Either of you seen George, or Gene?”

“Doc went to get air sickness pills from the real docs with Spina,” said Liebgott. “I don’t know about George. Try looking for Toye or Lip.”

“He wasn’t with Joe. I’ll look for Lipton,” she agreed. “Right. Stay safe, ok?”

“Yeah, yeah. Get outta here, Lieutenant. We’ll be fine,” Talbert assured her.

With a small smile and a nod, she turned away. Alice shared a few words with Johnny and Bull, who she’d be jumping with, before weaving her way through some of Third Platoon’s boys. Smokey and Shifty sat together, and she wished them well. Then she found Skinny, and checked in on him. He assured her he was fine.

Finally she found George and Lip. They stood together, the former snickering where he stood smoking, and the latter just smiling, shaking his head. When they saw her walking over, both of them waved. 

“There she is,” George joked. “I wondered when you’d show up. Not spending your last few hours with the brass?”

Alice smiled. “And miss spending it with Easy? Never. If I’m going to die, I’m going to die having spent time with my favorite people.”

George grinned around his cigarette. He looked around dramatically. “I don’t see Lieutenant Nixon around here, though.”

“I have other friends,” Alice said quickly. She willed her cheeks not to flush at his insinuation. That kind of joke should’ve been expected from him. “Though I could remove you from the list now.”

Lipton laughed. “Both of you, be nice to each other.”

“Yeah, yeah, Lip, sure. Whatever you say.” George raised his hands in protest.

Alice smiled at them. She let her gaze take them both in, hoping beyond hope that somehow she had the power to keep them both safe. She nodded ever so slightly to herself. “Right. You two stay safe, ok. I don’t want to get to the rally point in Normandy to find out you two died doing something stupid.”

Before either could respond, Johnny Martin walked over and called over to Lipton. With a tiny smile at Alice, he just nodded and turned away. George and Alice both watched him walk away. 

“I’m serious, George.” She looked at him again, holding his gaze. “Please.”

“Hey, we’re gonna be fine,” he assured her. “Those Krauts don’t stand a chance against Easy.”

Alice chuckled. “Yeah, that’s true.”

They stood in silence together for a bit, side by side. Alice still had her helmet in her hand at her side. The sun had started to set, casting shadows from the C-47s around them. Eventually Alice pulled out another cigarette. In just a few minutes, they’d get called to board the planes.

She turned to George. “Hey, don’t die out there.” 

“Alice, you better be at that rally point too, you know,” he added. “I’m serious. Maria’s gonna meet you when we get back to the States.”

Alice smiled at him. “Damn right, she is.” She leaned in and gave him a quick cheek kiss. “For good luck. Don’t die out there.”

He winked at her. “See you in France. Hopefully I get to hear some of those gorgeous accents that you’ve started to lose.”

Alice laughed at him, feeling happy for the first time in days. With a nod, she turned away and went to find her next few people. The officers had a meeting at 1800 hours, a time rapidly approaching. She hurried towards where she knew they needed to meet up.

When she got there, Harry and Dick already stood waiting. It didn't take long for Buck to join them. She stood quietly, gaze trained on the horizon. The other three men chatted with feigned indifference. 

“Everyone ready?” Meehan asked. He strolled up with purpose, strapping on the last few pieces of his uniform. He held his helmet in his right hand. “Winters?”

“Yes, sir. Everyone’s ready. Roe and Spina should be back with air sickness pills any minute now.” Dick nodded back towards Easy’s staging place. 

He nodded. “Klein, any new word from Battalion intelligence?”

“The Pathfinders are gearing up as we speak,” she told them. Alice pointed down the airfield. “They should be setting out in about half an hour, and we go after that. Last I checked in, with my sources in the Resistance, they’re ready too. They know we’re coming.”

Meehan nodded again. “Compton, Welsh? First and Third?”

Both told him they were prepared. Tension built around them as they realized they’d be jumping in a bit over an hour. They shuffled in place.

“Alright. When you land, make your way to the rally point. And remember, the Brass were very clear: take no prisoners. Kill anyone in your way. France and maybe the whole world depends on it.” He looked at them closely. “I have faith that each and every one of you is going to reach that rally point. Just see your men get there, too.”

A chorus of “yes sirs” answered him. With a last nod, Meehan dismissed them. Alice looked between the other lieutenants as he walked away. She wished Buck good luck first, and he left. Then she turned to Dick.

“See you in France,” she said, tears threatening to spill from her anxiety. “Despite what happens, know that France is beautiful.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure it is.”

After a moment of silence, Alice grabbed him in a hug. She nodded as she pulled apart a moment later. “I tell you what I told Luz. Don’t die out there.”

“Pretty sure Nix won’t let me die until he sees me drink, so.”

Alice and Harry both laughed. She stood back as Harry said his own goodbyes and good lucks. The two of them would be heading to the same place, so they didn’t say much. When Dick turned and left, they looked at each other and nodded. They started their walk to First Platoon.

“Hey!”

Turning around, they found Nixon hurrying over. He waved them down. Waiting, Alice and Harry watched him take off his helmet. He stopped in front of them.

“Easy’s good?” he asked quickly, slightly out of breath. “They ready?”

Harry nodded. “Everybody’s ready for the game to start.”

“Good. You two?”

With a shrug, Harry didn’t respond at first. He just gave a small nod and looked around. “Ready to get moving. The waiting’s annoying.”

Alice agreed. But she didn’t say anything. She just looked at the paratroopers meandering about, her anxiety increasing. When she was pulled back to reality, she saw Nixon and Harry watching her.

“Sorry, I’m just…” She sighed. “Time to go home.” Shrill whistles rang through the air, shouts joining them. Time to board the planes. “Whatever home is,” she murmured.

Harry gave Nixon a quick side hug before hurrying away. Then Alice turned to him. She shook her head. Alice didn’t hesitate to grab him in a hug, as well. “Don’t you dare die before me, Nix.”

“I told you, we aren’t going to die,” he assured her. When they broke apart, he nodded to her. “Tout ira bien.”

She hesitated, her breath catching. Everything will be okay, he said. She tried to believe it. She had to believe it. “Oui, mon ami. See you in Normandy?”

“Can’t keep me away,” he teased. 

Alice watched him back away. Finally, he turned and hurried off, probably to find Dick. After a few seconds of watching him fade into the sea of paratroopers, she made to follow Harry. She reached First Platoon a few minutes later.

“Ey, Lieutenant, air sickness pills for yah,” Spina said, coming over to her. He sidled over to her and dropped two white pills into her left palm. “One now, one in an hour, okay?”

She nodded. With a small smile, she slid one into her breast pocket and then swallowed the other. “Thanks, Spina.” 

“Any time.”

Alice walked through the men of First Platoon. Patting Hoobler on the shoulder, she shot him a smile for encouragement. He nodded back, grinning for a moment before dropping back into nervous shuffling. She did the same for Blithe before joining Johnny and Bull near the front.

“Ready?” Alice asked them.

Bull just nodded, puffing out his cigar smoke thoughtfully. He glanced around. “Ready as they’ll ever be.”

“Alice, did you talk to Bill?” Johnny asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He didn’t say anything else, just gave her a quick, thoughtful nod. They stood together watching the rest of the Platoon. Finally Harry called her over. He looked from the men to her, and nodded. 

“It’s time.”

Her breath faltered. She glanced down the line of men, many of whom had sat down, weighed down by all their gear. She moved to the side and clipped her extra stuff on as Harry helped the men up. He gave a quick speech wishing them luck and assuring them he’d see them on the ground.

With that, they began to board. Johnny went in first, followed by his squad. Then Bull’s. And from there, the rest filed in. Alice went second to last, being hoisted up by Christenson in front of her, and pushed from behind by Harry. She stumbled in, wobbling from both the weight of the gear and the drowsiness of the air sickness pill. 

Harry scooted in next to her, beside the open door. The sun had just set. For an agonizing hour, they sat on the airstrip. Plane engines roared to life around them, starting in the distance until they came close. At last, theirs started up with a deafening groan.

The groan turned into a roar as the plane began to shake. Alice sat beside Harry, not talking. Instead she looked at Spina who sat across from her. They locked eyes. Both tried to nod encouragement to the other. As the C-47, the Skytrain, began to roll down the tarmac, the tension became so thick it could’ve been cut with a knife.

This was it. In less than five hours, Alice would be home. But what she’d find worried her. With the rattling of the straps and metal clasps around her, she tried to put herself back in their jump training days. She thought back to the ecstasy of the first Night Jump, the day they’d earned their wings. And with that, she felt the plane take off.


	46. Chapter Forty Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we invade Europe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my Uncle Mike, who was a Staff Sergeant and Radioman for a C-47 Skytrain with the 316th Troop Carrier Group, dropping paratroopers near St-Mere-Eglise on D-Day. Miss you.

**June 6, 1944**

_Normandy, France_

The Day of Days started out as a terrifically horrifying Night of Nights. The first hour or so had been calm, with only the racket of the plane making noise. The men around her had stilled. But a few hours into the flight, the Germans made themselves known.

Explosions rocked the plane. Alice felt her heart leap into her throat when she glanced out through the doorway and saw the sky painted in sunset colors of red, yellow, and dark blue. But the colors weren’t from a setting sun, they were anti-aircraft weapons, flaming C-47s, and clouds of smoke. They didn’t hear screams; the cacophony of war drowned out any human noise from their plane or another’s.

The flying became erratic. The pilots and radiomen did admiral jobs dodging weapons fire, but so much of it filled the sky that it became almost impossible to navigate. And even if they dodged the missiles, they had to contend with exploding C-47 ripping apart in flames around them. Alice couldn’t keep her eyes off the door to the sky.

Harry nudged her. They locked eyes, looking out from beneath their helmets at the other. She nodded. He nodded back. His smirk calmed her nerves ever so slightly. They’d trained for this. They knew what to do. Nothing could stop her from saving France.

And if she did die before hitting the ground, at least she’d die over her home.

Suddenly the light came on. Harry and Alice led the way in standing up. But as they stood, hooked up, an explosion clipped the side of the plane. Something scraped across her face, but behind her, they heard a man shout in agony.

Alice couldn’t see who it was, but Harry carefully maneuvered back to where Spina and another man stood comforting the wounded soldier. Then without ceremony, the light turned green.

At the front of the line, Alice stood in the doorway. Again, she looked out at the strange horrific beauty of the early morning sky, painted by red and yellow flames. With a deep breath, Alice gripped the metal sides of the doorway. The next step: make it to the ground. She leapt.

One thousand.

Two thousand.

Three thousand.

Four thousand.

The jerk of her chute coming loose did nothing to distract her from taking a moment to look around in the sky. She saw a plane burning below her. Another one cracked in half above. She turned back to the present and began maneuvering the chute to try to avoid a body of water that grew rapidly near her. She missed the water, but she didn’t fully miss a tree.

Her chute ripped as it caught in the branches. Falling near the ground, Alice pulled out her trench knife and sawed through her harness. It took a few minutes, but finally she pushed herself free and dropped the remaining foot to the ground. Darkness covered the world around her. She could hear machine gun pulses, but they sounded far enough away not to be trouble. Like a heartbeat, the pounding of 88s rang in the distance.

Looking around her, she realized her leg bag had gone missing. She thanked God that she’d only put a few things in there, as she hadn’t wanted weight on anything not directly near her upper body; she was strong, but she didn’t want to test her muscles that much. Alice double checked the rest of her equipment while crouched in some bushes. With a readied rifle, she gave a quick nod to herself.

If she did die on the ground, at least she’d die at home.

Creeping to the edge of the small lake she’d avoided, Alice looked across. A small, broken down farmhouse sat about two hundred feet away. She gasped. She knew that farmhouse. The Resistance had used it as a place to leave messages. But did France own it now? Or the Nazis.

She hesitated. In her hesitation, she lost the opportunity to act as footsteps sounded to her left. Alice ducked behind a bush to watch. Rifle up and ready, she waited. She stopped breathing.

Then she saw a spade painted on a helmet. Alice breathed again, and waited until the soldier got closer before speaking. “Flash.”

“Thunder,” came the low, fast reply.

When Alice moved out of the bushes, she realized it was Johnny Martin. He looked fine, not even a scratch. He’d jumped a bit after her. With a small smile, she moved over to him.

“Hey, Lieutenant.” He sounded relieved, a strong emotion for the usually fairly stoic man. With a quick glance around, he stayed quiet. Only when he turned back to her did he speak again. “What the fuck happened to you?”

Alice had no idea what he was talking about. But when he pointed to her face, her hand flew to her cheek. The skin screamed in pain as she touched it. Now aware of the large cut across her face, it burned in pain.

“I think whatever hit the plane caught me,” she muttered. “It’s fine.”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. Let’s get moving.”

They started heading inland, leaving the abandoned farmhouse behind. Meeting little resistance, they kept their heads low. Alice smacked away probably two dozen mosquitos as they traversed the flooded fields past the forest. Neither she nor Johnny talked very much until the day had come and almost gone.

After about ten hours of nearly constant walking, they agreed to stop. Another small forest reared up on their left, so they took cover there. Alice poured a small drink from her canteen into her parched throat. Thank God for Sobel’s night marches without water. As the thought passed her mind, she let out a small laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Johnny asked.

Alice shrugged, settling down, back against a tree. Johnny sat to her right. “I never thought I’d be thankful for Sobel’s dry night marches.”

Johnny scoffed as well. “Yeah, that’s the truth.” 

They fell into silence again. She had always appreciated Johnny’s no nonsense approach, including how he would stay quiet unless otherwise was needed. So it surprised her a few minutes later when he started up a new conversation.

“So Bill told you what happened,” he stated.

Alice nodded. “Yeah.”

“You better not repeat this, but I’m worried about him,” he admitted. Johnny shuffled where he sat, trying to get in a better position. “I don’t want to see him go batshit crazy.”

“I know what you mean,” she agreed. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Good. I don’t know how you get most of the men to do what you want, but they do, Wild Bill included.”

She chuckled quietly. “In most cases.”

Johnny hummed in agreement. They fell back into silence, allowing their aching bodies to rest after marching straight through the day. They’d already missed their intended rally time, with the landings beginning a few hours before. So after about half an hour to ease the pain, they started off with the setting sun.

“We better hurry up,” Alice muttered as they stood up.

And hurry they did. The two paratroopers pushed on, running into trouble only once. They managed to take out a German scout without too much noise, and continued on quickly. When night fell, they finally reached their rally point.

Alice didn’t see anyone she recognized immediately, but knowing that she stood surrounded by allies was comfort enough. She told Johnny to go find food, while she herself wanted to seek out whoever was in charge. As she moved along the outskirts of the town they’d occupied, she heard shouting. But mixed with the English, she thought she recognized French. Alice hurried towards them. A shot rang out.

Alice saw a man drop to the ground. He wore civilian clothes, some ripped and stained. A beret had fallen from his dark haired head. Alice pushed past a few bystanders and fell to his side.

“Vous etês français?” she asked quickly. Alice grabbed his bloodied hand, taking off her own helmet with her other hand.

He forced his eyes open. “Oui, je suis français. Vive la resistance,” he coughed out. “Vive la France combattante.”

When his eyes closed again, she shook with anger. Alice turned from the dead resistance fighter and stood up. She faced the paratrooper who held the pistol. Alice took a step towards him. “What the fuck did you do, private?”

He looked at her, eyes wide. Then he glanced down at the dead man. “He wouldn’t speak English-”

“This is France!” Alice took a step closer. “They don’t speak English, they speak French! This is our home, not yours.”

When she took another step forward, the private took a step back. With a sneer, she turned away from him. Looking at a couple of soldiers to the right, she ordered them to bury the body. They obeyed. With a last look at the peaceful face of the freedom fighter, Alice turned away.

Alice stormed away. She ran a bloodied hand through her hair. When she felt a hand pull her to the side, Alice flinched, and nearly punched whoever it was. Then she realized it was Nixon.

“You’re alive!” Alice grabbed him in a hug. “Thank God.”

“What happened to your face,” he asked immediately. Nixon pointed to the cut down her cheek.

Alice had forgotten about it again. Like last time, as soon as her mind allowed itself to think about the pain, the pain rushed in full force. “Shrapnel on the plane.”

“Come on, they’ve set up an aid station further in.” 

Nixon pushed her forward. As they walked side by side, Alice’s thoughts drifted back to the dead civilian. Suddenly she realized she’d have to contend with Americans as much as Germans when it came to protecting France. When Nixon finally forced her to sit and wait for a medic, she sighed. Fatigue threatened to crash over her.

“How was your jump?” Nixon asked.

She shrugged. “Not too bad. Found Sergeant Martin soon after I reached the ground. We made our way here.” Alice yawned. The movement made her gasp in pain as it reopened her wound. She spit out a few curses.

As a medic cleaned the wound, she bit her tongue to stay quiet. She thought she recognized him from G Company, but couldn't be sure. A sulfa pack and some stitches later, and Alice felt better, if a bit more in pain. At least it had less chance of getting infected.

They moved out of the aid station. Men still moved about despite it being nearly midnight. Light and noise discipline had been ordered, but she could see some lights from under tent flaps or in hidden areas. And the noise discipline was nearly useless given the tanks and trucks moving through.

“Who’s made it?” Alice paused beside a building, leaning against the brick wall. “Anyone I would want to know about?”

“Most of them are in that truck,” Nixon said. He pointed to the one with the light coming out from under it. “Dick’s here too, somewhere. He wandered off. And Liebgott went somewhere I think.”

As he spoke, several men jumped out of the truck he’d mentioned. She gave a small smile as she saw Guarnere, Malarkey, Buck, Joe Toye, and Lipton. As much as she wanted to go over and say hello, her body ached for sleep and alone time. The image of the unnamed resistance fighter’s pale face wouldn’t leave her mind.

“Tell them I’m alive, would you,” she asked Nixon, who still stood next to her. 

He looked at her in confusion but shrugged. “Sure.”

Content to know her friends who had arrived would know she’d made it, Alice wandered off. A small hill nearby looked promising. So with a sigh and several deep breaths, she moved away from the men she loved. Instead she sat beneath a tree, helmet off, watching the flames paint the sky for the second time in twenty four hours.


	47. Chapter Forty Seven

Alice woke to an explosion. The sun had yet to rise, and she realized she couldn't have been asleep for more than a handful of hours. In the distance, flames lit the horizon. A few anti-aircraft missiles still penetrated the sky.

Her muscle screamed in pain as she shifted her head from against the tree trunks she’d fallen asleep on. Mostly it hurt in her shoulders and neck. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked across the fields and trees of Normandy. She was home, but her home burned.

She hadn’t expected anything different, but seeing the country she’d been dreaming over for two years crumbling beneath the war machine pulled out all kinds of emotions. Enamored by the dying country before her eyes, she didn’t notice she had company until she smelled the cigarette smoke. Alice glanced to her left, hoping the darkness would hide her tear-stained cheeks.

“Nixon said you’d gotten in,” Ron Speirs said. He stood next to her, looking out over the same smoking fields. Then he glanced down at her. “How was your jump?”

Alice forced herself to smile. She shrugged. “Fairly uneventful.” 

Watching him, she noticed he looked much more tense than usual. She scolded herself for not realizing immediately; something seemed off with him. What could’ve shaken Ron Speirs, she didn’t know. Alice pushed herself off the ground, leaving her helmet by her feet. After a tense moment of silence, Alice taking in his still form while he stared out over Normandy, she spoke again.

“Something happened?”

He shrugged. “Nothing that couldn’t be handled.” A cloud of smoke released from his mouth slowly. He turned to her. “We do what it takes to win.”

After looking at him for another careful moment, she nodded. “Whatever it takes.” 

“I’m surprised you didn’t find Easy when you got in,” Ron said. 

He didn’t even need to specify it as a question; Alice knew that’s what it was. This time, she clammed up instead of him. Taking her own cigarette out and lighting it, she shrugged. “Didn’t feel like talking.”

“Well, they did good work. Winters led the men of Easy who’ve gotten here in an assault on a German garrison at Brecourt. They took out three guns and a good number of German infantry. Dog finished up the fourth one.”

“That’s good.”

Silence fell between them again. They stood shoulder to shoulder, cigarettes burning as they watched the flames eating Normandy’s beautiful landscape. The sounds of the Allies in the town at the base of the hill still floated up to them: rumbling trunks, a tank or two, soldiers shouting and moaning in pain. Alice had expected the sounds of injured men, but she’d never imagined just how loud war was. The Maquis had relied on ambush and sabotage. This was loud, chaotic, obtrusive.

“You should get some sleep,” Alice said. She turned to him. They’d been standing silent for several minutes. 

Ron scoffed, cigarette bouncing in his mouth. He took it out, blowing a cloud of smoke. “Right. And you probably need food.”

Her stomach growled. He was right. Alice looked at him and shrugged. When he offered her a K Ration, she took it, frowning. But a K Ration was better than nothing. Once she’d started on the bar, Ron walked back down the hill. Alice watched him go. Back to the flaming countryside, her gaze wandered over the town below. A few moments later, she locked eyes with Johnny Martin, who stood chatting with Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye. Their own eyes followed his.

There would be no keeping to herself now. Alice bent down. She picked up her helmet and put it on, leaving the straps dangling loose. Then she started down the hill. It didn’t take long before she stood with the men of Easy Company.

“There she is,” Guarnere said. “We heard you was back. Johnny ‘ere was telling us about your day.”

“Yeah?” Alice looked at Johnny Martin. 

He shrugged. “Not like we did much.”

Alice agreed with him. They’d done a lot of walking. Beyond that, they’d run into very few German soldiers. Most of the killing they’d done had been on mosquitoes. She turned to Joe and Bill. “Ron Speirs told me about your attack at Brecourt. Nice job.” She saw Joe Toye’s expression change to complete and utter annoyance. She looked at him in confusion. “Didn’t go well?”

Bill laughed, gesturing with his thumb at Joe. “Joe took two grenades. He’s one lucky bastard.”

“You got hit by two grenades?” 

Joe rolled his eyes. “Fuckin’ things gave me a shitty headache, but not much else.” Then he leaned in and looked at her closer. He pointed to her cheek. “Looks like you got hit good, though.”

“Ah, it’s nothing,” Johnny scoffed. “She got hit by somethin’ on the plane.”

Alice laughed at his comment. “You’re saying it’s nothing now? You were worried over it when you saw it first!”

“Yeah, well, now the docs saw it. Quit whining,” Johnny told her.

With a small smile, Alice shook her head. She turned from the three men, looking around her in the town. They stood in a dark street, lit only by the headlights of a couple jeeps that had been parked nearby. Soldiers still roamed around. A few people even meandered in from down the road. 

“Winters was looking for you, by the way,” Johnny said. He tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned, he gestured down the road towards a large building. “The officers that’ve made their way here set up in there.”

“Who’s that?”

“Nixon, Winters, and Compton from Easy, and obviously Speirs from Dog,” Guarnere said. “Major Strayer’s accounted for too.”

“No one’s seen Welsh?” Alice shuffled uncomfortably. 

Joe shook his head. “No one’s seen him or Meehan, either. But you two showed up from Welsh’s plane, so we know it didn’t go down. Meehan’s though, no one’s here.”

Her head snapped back to look at him. Her heart clenched. “No one? So Winters is in charge.”

They all nodded. Moving to look between the Officers’ headquarters and them, she finally decided to go find Dick. Bidding them goodnight, she gave both Joe and Bill quick hugs. Alice moved down the street. The door to the house she’d been pointed to opened easily. Inside she found half a dozen lieutenants of the 506th. All eyes followed her as she moved past them. When she spotted Heyliger, she stopped.

“Hey, Moose, you seen Dick?”

He nodded. ‘Upstairs. He grabbed a room with Nixon and Lieutenant Compton.”

Alice thanked him. The stairs on the left had been crafted of a dark, rich brown wood. It creaked under her boots. When she reached the top, Alice looked around. Several large rooms branched off. At the end of the hall she saw Strayer talking to Dick.

“Klein, there you are,” Strayer said, looking her way. “Glad you made it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Beds are first come, first serve, so if you want one make sure to grab it.” Strayer gestured towards the open doors as he walked down the hall. Passing her, he just nodded again. “See you all in the morning.”

Both Dick and Alice bid him goodnight. As he retreated down the stairs, Alice turned to Dick. She smiled softly, walking over to him where he stood in a doorway. Beyond, she saw Nixon and Compton chatting at a small table, sipping at canteens. 

“I heard you took out a German battery,” Alice said, lowering her voice as they stood in the hall. She glanced beyond him. Then she looked back. “How’d it go?”

His small smile dropped completely. With a shrug, he looked beyond her, past anything actually physically present. He sighed. “I lost a man, a kid.”

“Who?”

“Private John Hall, Able Company. He was a radio op,” he said. But with a deep breath, he turned away. “I’m not tired. Take the bunk I claimed.”

Alice looked at him in displeasure. He’d yet to completely wash the oil and paint camouflage from his face but beyond the discoloration, she could see plainly he was lying. Two beds sat in the room. Buck’s gear already lay in a heap by a pile of blankets and an extra pillow on the floor. Evidently he’d been last in the room.

“Dick-”

“Take it. I’m serious,” he added. “I know you’re perfectly fine with sleeping on a hardwood floor, but you don’t need to when I’m going to be pacing half the night anyway.”

Alice frowned. Still, it made sense, and she knew he told her the truth. So she nodded. Stepping into the room, it didn’t surprise her to see someone had already tossed her pack into a corner. She’d left it with some of Easy’s stuff outside; Nixon had probably found it.

“I’m afraid you two have a new roommate,” she attempted to joke. To their credit, both Buck and Nixon gave small laughs at her comment. So she just tried to smile in return. “Hard to believe that in two years I’ve never gotten the pleasure of sharing quarters with my own rank.”

Nixon scoffed. He tossed her his flask. “Rank has perks. It’s about time you started using them.”

“Hm, maybe you’re right.” Alice took a long drink of his Vat 69. Letting it settle in her throat and mouth, coating it, she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she passed the flask back. 

“You didn’t happen to see Harry in your travels, did you?” Dick asked, leaning in the doorway. 

As she took off the heavy coat of her paratrooper uniform, she shook her head. Her muscles ached as she shifted it off. Every movement hurt. Finally she had it off, and she tossed it aside to where her pack sat sprawled against the ground. “No. I only ran into Sergeant Martin. But Harry jumped late. Someone in our stick got hit by some shrapnel and he went to check it out while the rest of us jumped.”

“Someone other than you,” Buck pointed out.

Alice half laughed. She nodded, running a few fingers over the stitched up cut from the top of her cheek bone down towards the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, other than me.” She eased herself onto the bed, her baggy pants contrasted by the tight white sleeveless top she wore. “I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

“I don’t know, guys. Alice is being optimistic? Is it the end times?” Nixon smirked around his newly lit cigarette. He pushed himself off his chair. After pulling off his own jacket, he settled on the other bed. 

As the other two officers laughed, she rolled her eyes. Then she paused, frowning. Her thoughts had drifted to Ron’s cockiness which had brought comfort, but then she recalled his stiff hesitance earlier. “Anyone know what was up with Ron?”

Dick and Nixon both frowned. But Buck just scoffed and shook his head. “Speirs stole my pack of cigarettes. But that’s all I saw of him before watching him take the fourth gun by himself.”

“Some sergeant in Charlie Company took half a dozen men prisoner,” Dick explained. He shook his head. “Strayer needed someone to change that. We were told no prisoners.”

Alice nodded. “We do whatever it takes to win this war,” she muttered. Ron’s comment from earlier finally made sense.

Nixon agreed with her. Finishing up his cigarette, he smashed it on the side table next to his bed. “Give his reputation, I can only imagine how this will influence the men.”

Buck shrugged. “So long as he gets the job done, that’s all that matters.”

“And if he doesn’t steal your smokes,” Nixon teased.

Alice left them to chat as she retreated into the bathroom off the bedroom. She flipped on the dim light and closed the door. The water ran chilly, but she didn’t mind. Carefully, Alice cleaned her face, avoiding the stitched up cut as best she could. She tried to get the blood and dirt out of her hair, leaving it a wet, wavy, tangled mess. Wearing just her old PT shorts and her tank top, Alice left the bathroom, still frowning.

“We’ve got about four hours until sunrise,” Dick said. He looked out the window at the far side of the room. “No doubt we’ll get moving sometime today.”

“Yeah. And hopefully by then we’ll have more men,” Nixon muttered.

“Let’s get some sleep.”

Alice didn’t add anything, but she nodded. Fatigue crashed over her, mingling with her aching pains. After taking a long drink of lukewarm water, she crawled into the bed. Despite the loud springs and general poor quality, the fact that she had a blanket, sheets, and a pillow on top of a mattress meant she didn’t even consider complaining.

It didn’t take long before Nixon had climbed into his bed too, and Buck took up the floor. Dick turned out the light at the front of the room before disappearing outside. The hypocrisy of his order to sleep did not escape her, but Alice didn’t have the energy to point it out.

As she lay in the quiet room, mosquitoes occasionally buzzing around her and a slight breeze drifting through the open window, Alice started making a list of the people she knew were safe, and those she’d not gotten information on yet. The list of unknowns dwarfed the safe ones. Still, she hadn’t expected much else. She just hoped that by the end of the day, at the next setting sun, that she’d have even the sides a bit.


	48. Chapter Forty Eight

Alice had woken up almost at sunrise, just a bit after. Nixon had still slept like a rock to her right across the room, and Buck seemed to be asleep too. When she’d changed and walked out of the room, she found Dick Winters right outside the door at the street level. The hustle and bustle had only increased from the night before.

Dick turned to her. He nodded, forcing a small smile on his face. “Morning.”

“Good morning to you,” she agreed. Alice put her hands on her hips. “Any more of Easy show up?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Doc Roe, Skip Muck, and Alex Penkala came in a few hours ago. Spina, Dukeman, Tipper, and Perconte wandered in a few minutes ago too.”

Alice sighed. “Still no sign of Harry?”

“No, nor anyone from Meehan’s plane.”

Her heart clenched again. If, to allow Sergeant Evans a spot on the HQ plane, she hadn’t been switched, chances were she’d have been missing too. But she just nodded. “They’ll turn up.”

A tiny smile spread across Dick’s face. He shook his head. “Since when are you the optimistic one?”

She let out a small laugh. As they stood beside the door to their temporary house, they watched men wandering up the road. A few got ushered towards the aid station, bleeding and bruised. But most just looked around for familiar faces. Just as Alice pulled out and lit a cigarette, she heard familiar voices. Her grin only grew as she saw them.

“Speak of the devil,” Alice said, laughing. She poked Dick and then pointed down the road. George and Harry strolled side by side, both smoking cigarettes. With a grin, she pushed off the brick wall and wandered over. “Took you long enough to show up!”

Both Harry and George grinned as they caught sight of her. They broke off from the line of paratroopers dribbling in. Both joined Alice and Dick.

George did a quick salute. “How late are we?”

Dick cracked a smile. He looked from George to Harry. “Late, but not that late.”

“How many people have shown up?” Harry asked.

“We’re at about forty percent.” Looking between them, Dick nodded. “Either of you run into Meehan, or anyone from his plane?”

George shook his head, and Harry said no. Both Alice and Dick sighed. While the other two officers started chatting about D-Day, she offered to show George to where the enlisted had set up. Easy had claimed a small house not too far away.

“Jesus Christ, what happened to your face?” George pointed at her, holding his finger mere inches from the cut. 

Alice scoffed. Walking beside him, she turned to look him in the eyes. “How bad does it look?”

“Looks like it hurt.”

She laughed. “Yeah, it did. But not until I realized it was there.”

“Run into many germans, then?”

“No, I got that on the plane. We killed more bugs than Nazis on the way in here. You?”

George shrugged. While they waited for a caravan of jeeps and a tank to roll through, he gestured back to where Harry and Dick had been. “Well, I met up with Lieutenant Welsh an hour or so after we jumped. A few boys of the 82nd joined us before we found their unit.”

“Did you grab some sleep?”

“Yeah.” George nodded, taking his cigarette out for a moment to blow some smoke. “Then we started this way.”

The line of vehicles ended. Alice and George crossed together, followed by a handful of other enlisted men from various companies. They caught sight of Malarkey and Skip Muck chatting while sitting on some crates, smoking. 

“Are your jump wings crooked, privates?” George called, impersonating Sobel as best he could. “How do you expect to win the war with crooked jump wings!”

“Ah, shut up, George,” Skip called back. His smile widened though. “You know you’ve done one good thing in your life, George.”

“Yeah, what’s that Skip?”

He winked. “You brought Alice over here.”

She laughed at him, feeling a bit happier seeing more of Easy’s men. When she and George joined him and Malarkey, she just shrugged. “How do you know George brought me over here? Don’t think I’d come visit you on my own?”

“Clearly Skip doesn’t think too highly of you,” Malarkey chipped in. He accepted a cigarette that Skip offered him.

“Hey!”

“Well, I guess there’s no accounting for taste,” George teased.

“Could you guys keep it down!” From behind them, Alex Penkala wandered out of the door, hair disheveled and eyes blinking in the sun. 

Alice looked at him in amusement. Her eyebrows shot up. “Good morning, Alex.”

“Alice!” He rubbed his eyes. “Jesus, you’re a sight for sore eyes. Thought I’d get stuck staring at these ugly grochos for the rest of this war.”

“Thanks, Penk. Nice to see you, too,” George said, snorting. “Who else is here?”

Alex leaned in the doorway. He rested his head against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. “Guarnere and Toye are inside. Lipton’s wandering around somewhere with Ranney. I don’t know where Lieb went.” He went on to list the soldiers he’d seen show up thus far. “And of course Lieutenants Compton, Nixon, and Winters. Anyone seen Welsh, yet?”

“We came in together,” said George. 

“That’s good.”

“Anyone got food?”

Alice laughed. Trust George to think with his stomach. But Alex just nodded, and she and George followed him into the house. Guarnere and Toye had splayed out across a couch and large chair, the former smoking and complaining about something. 

“Hey, Alice, any word on when we’re moving out?” Toye looked up at her, straightening in his chair. He took his cigarette out and gestured towards the door with it. “Krauts won’t kill themselves.”

Guarnere snorted with laughter. He sat up too from laying on his back. “I don’t know Joe. Them Krauts are pretty stupid.” He laughed again. “Or did ya not see ‘em firing on their own guns on D-Day?”

“Course I did, jackass. I was right next to you.”

“All I remember is you on your back from them grenades.”

George snorted in amusement, and laughter sounded from behind as Alex, Skip, and Malarkey came inside. It seemed to have been Malarkey who had laughed. They looked at him.

“Hey, Malark, I wouldn’t laugh if I was you. I seem to remember you being too busy cryin’ over a Luger,” Bill added with a smirk. “Stupid Mick.”

“Just wait ‘till I do get one,” he muttered.

Alice smiled and shook her head. “Hoobler’s dying for one, too.”

The door opened behind them. In walked Johnny Martin and Bull Randleman. The former smirked. “Look who wandered in.”

“Hey! Bull!” Bill stood up and took his hand. They shook. “Glad you’re alive.”

Bull snorted in amusement. “So am I.” He looked around and shook hands. Then he turned to Alice. “Glad to be home, Lieutenant?”

She’d known the question would come eventually. But she paused. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment. Flashes of crumbled buildings, Nazi uniforms, and flames filled her mind. France, broken, dying.

“Alice?”

She glanced at George. They had all started watching her closely. Alice forced a smile. “Yeah, yeah, it’s good. Nice to be back.” 

“I could do without the bugs,” Bill muttered.

Her fake smile became genuine. She shook her head. The others broke off into smaller conversations, George and Bull following Joe Toye to get food. Alice took up a spot by a window, sitting on a wooden chair. She watched the trucks and men going to and fro in the sunshine.

A few minutes later, George came back over. He pulled a coffee table towards the window and sat on the wood. A bar of some sort stuck out of his mouth until he had his hands free again. After a moment of watching her, he spoke up when she turned to him. “You okay?”

“What do you mean?”

George scoffed. “You’re doing the thing where you think too much.” He gestured back through the house where the men had disappeared into a kitchen. “You know, Bill’s problem with you.”

“I’ll be fine.” She shrugged. With a sigh, Alice looked back out the window and then to him. “Two years I dreamed about coming back here, back to France. Now I’m here and it’s so much worse than when I left it. I guess I hadn't prepared myself for that.”

With a nod, he took another bite. They turned to the window again. Together, they watched the bustle outside. More and more men filtered into the town. Suddenly, Alice straightened up. She saw Gene.

“I’ll be right back,” she told George. Darting up from her spot, she hurried out the door. “Gene!”

The man turned to look. He looked tired, with bloody clothes and sweat cutting through the grime on his skin. As he caught sight of her, Gene offered a small smile. He waited. 

Alice grabbed him in a hug. “Thank God you’re alright. I couldn’t find you before the jump.”

He nodded. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I got stuck at Second Platoon and had too much to do.”

“No, I’m sorry. I should’ve found time,” she insisted. “Hopefully the blood on your clothes isn’t yours?”

He shook his head. With a gesture back down a road, he sighed. “Nah, I’ve been workin’ at the aid station. They need all the help they can get right now. Half the men pourin’ in here are wounded.”

“Did you get any sleep at all?”

Gene looked at her. “Don’t lecture me, Alice. I’ll get sleep when I can get sleep.” With another sigh, he shook his head. “We’re moving out at noon, by the way. I overheard a couple ‘a officers talking about it.”

“Noon? Where to?”

He shook his head. “I dunno. Some town further in. Didn’t catch a name.”

“Right.” Alice released a deep breath. “Okay. Well, try to sleep, okay? Please?”

Gene frowned but nodded. He looked around. Then he turned back to her. “How’s your face? Charlie’s medic said it looked pretty painful.” He leaned in to inspect her cheek as he turned it towards him. “Eh, ain’t too bad. Probably hurt, though.”

“To be honest, I didn’t feel it till Johnny pointed it out. Must’ve been too anxious to care,” she muttered. “But once I knew it was there, it stung like crazy.”

“Well keep it clean,” said Gene. “Don’t be puttin’ anything like your gloves or unwashed hands near that thing. Let it heal on its own.”

“Whatever you say.”

“And don’t you ignore me, neither. I’m serious, Cherie. Watch what goes near that cut.”

Alice smiled. “I will. I promise.”

Gene nodded. “Good.”

“Now, go get some sleep. Noon’s in a few hours. I want to hear you slept before we get moving again, okay?” 

“Deal.”

She nodded to him again. While Gene went back across the road into the house Easy had claimed, Alice just looked around. Once she saw him disappear inside, she turned away. Her mind drifted to thoughts of France as she made her way deeper into the town. Before long she caught sight of Dick talking to Buck and Harry. She made her way to them.i

“Heard we’re moving out in a few hours,” she said, joining them. 

Dick nodded. “Yeah, we have orders inland. Eventually we’ll be making an assault on Carentan.”

“They do know we have maybe forty percent strength, right?” Buck muttered.

Dick nodded. “Yeah, but the way Strayer and Sink see it, at least we have forty percent which is better than the less than twenty men we had on day one.”

Buck scoffed, but Harry just shrugged. He took a swig of his canteen and looked around. Then he turned to Alice. “You were talking to the men?”

“Yeah.”

“How are they doing?”

Alice shrugged. “Better than I expected, to be honest. I, uh, expected at least one in particular to be more than a little upset.”

“Guarnere?” ventured Dick.

“He told you?”

Dick shrugged. “I overheard.”

Buck and Harry both looked between them in confusion. For a moment they both hesitated. But Alice decided to tell them. If anyone could handle being yelled at by Guarnere, she could, because she had a feeling he wouldn’t take it out on her given the events on the Samaria.

“Guarnere found out his brother Henry was killed in Monte Casino before we jumped.” She let out a long breath. “Frankly he’s doing better than I expected.”

“Shit,” Buck muttered. “No wonder he wanted to shoot everything in sight.”

Dick didn’t say anything at first. But then he nodded, and looked down the road. “Well. Let’s just hope more of Easy show up before we move. We can use all the help we can get.”

“That’s for sure,” Buck added. 

For the next several hours, Alice wandered around the town, trying to find all the men of Easy that she could. She checked her equipment too. After making sure each man of Easy had been checked in with, Alice found the officers again. When noon came, quite a few members of Easy Company had shown up, so they would be moving at about seventy percent strength. Alice thanked God that not a single person she had felt particularly close to had been declared dead. While quite a bit of Third Platoon hadn’t shown up, no one could confirm their demise, so she decided not to think the worst.

Together with Harry to her left and Dick to her right, they started off. France looked marginally better in the daytime. It restored a bit of her hope. Maybe France wasn’t dead, just broken.w


	49. Chapter Forty Nine

At two in the morning, Major Strayer ordered the 506th to stop for a rest. They’d been marching nearly straight through since noon. Through swampland and forest, dodging flaming barrels and broken trucks, the men had at last reached some dry space in a forested area. Light discipline became paramount, and noise discipline after. But with so many men, it became impossible to keep everyone silent.

Alice crashed to the ground, letting her packs slip off. She propped herself against a tree. Her eyes closed. Around her, she could hear the other members of Easy Company doing the same. Groans sounded all around her.

“Fucking Christ,” Bill muttered. He sat himself to her left. With a loud groan, his helmet hit the tree trunk. “Jesus, my legs hurt.”

“Keep your voice down,” Alice muttered. She kept her eyes closed. When she heard someone settle on her right, she turned. “George, can I have a cigarette?”

“Don’t you have your own?” he objected.

Alice pouted. “Yes. But you’ve already got yours out.”

George snorted, but nodded. He took a second cigarette from his pack and handed it over to her. After lighting his own, he did hers. She mumbled a thank you. Slowly, others joined them. Skip, Alex, and Malarkey settled right near them. Alex Penkala lay on the ground with his head on a pack. The other two sat back to back. Before long, Joe Toye, Johnny Martin, and Bull Randleman joined them too.

Several minutes of silence followed. Only the smell of the cigarettes and cigars wrapped around them. Alice slipped off her helmet, placing it in her lap. Her hair caught in her fingers. Suddenly, she started snickering.

“What’s the matter with you?” George asked. 

She shrugged, her eyes still closed. “Do you remember when we played Truth or Dare?” Her smile just grew as she thought about it. Small snickers from a few of the men around her told her they did remember. “I still can’t believe that happened.”

George chuckled through his cigarette. He shook his head. “You mean when you kissed Lieb?”

“Okay, that was your fault, George. Don’t play innocent!” When she opened her eyes to glare at him, she saw Alex, Johnny, and Bull watching them in surprise. Alice sighed. “Listen, it’s not what it sounds like. George gave two impossible choices and the least embarrassing was kissing Liebgott.”

Alex started snickering. Beside him, Bull and Johnny just rolled their eyes. The other men who had all been present for that fateful game tried to keep their laughter low. But Alice just shook her head. It hadn’t been her shining moment.

“Wanna go again?”

Alice looked at George in surprise. They had all gone quiet at the suggestion. The smirk on his face only grew as the tension built.

“No kissing,” Alice ordered. 

George leaned over. His voice fell to a whisper. “Lieutenant Nixon isn’t here, so.”

Alice’s jaw dropped. “I should smack you!” Thankfully, she looked around in the darkness and realized no one else had heard his insinuation. “Goddamnit, George. Shut your mouth.”

“Come on,” he said to the others. “Let’s do it.”

In the end, they all agreed. Even Johnny and Bull were persuaded to play. At first the questions stayed rather harmless. They agreed that since no dares could be effectively done in the middle of Normandy, France, that instead of a dare, any time someone refused to offer up a truth, they would then owe the other person a favor at any unspecified later time. Somehow that made them even more likely to answer truths. After a while, though, the questions became a bit deeper. Instead of a way to trick the other into giving up a favor, they turned it into a sort of way to explore their inner thoughts.

Joe turned to his right, looking over Bill to Alice. He paused before asking. “Alice, what do you miss most about your life before the war?” 

She fell quiet. Pushing herself up to sit better, she stared out in front. What did she miss most? So many thoughts crashed through her mind at once: flashes of Bernadette’s golden hair when she danced, Robert’s card playing, Marc’s art, her parents’ singing, playing beside the Elbe river, her synagogue in Hamburg, and in Paris, the lights along the Seine. But what did she miss most?

“That’s hard,” she said quietly. Alice shifted again. Her face scrunched up. “I think… I think I miss me. The person I was before all this.” Alice waved with her hand around at the forest in Normandy. “You know, before I had to learn to fight. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally. I mean after I had to leave Paris, everything changed. Sure, I’d been fighting the Nazis in my own little ways, but that… that changed everything.” Her frown deepened as she thought about it. “I learned what I learned in order to survive.”

Malarkey spoke up next, finally breaking the silence that had fallen around them. “Why’d you leave Paris in the first place?”

_"Do you know what we do to Germans who betray the Fatherland?"_

Alice straightened up. The German accent of the man who had attacked her rang in her ears. It would never leave. He haunted her everyday, even more so since the Samaria. With a sigh, she shook her head. “I killed a member of the SS. We had to get out.” 

_"We have to go! We need to move, now. Are you listening? Look at me, Adélaïde!"_

She barely registered a couple of the men commending her on her murder. Beside her, she could feel both George and Bill tensing the more the men who didn’t understand kept talking. Finally she cut them off. “Stop. I didn’t mean to kill him.”

Questions turned back to the others. Alice stayed quiet, sitting against the tree. It brought her a lot of comfort that she could feel George to her right, his shoulder and arm against her own. After awhile, many of the men had drifted off to sleep. Alice couldn’t sleep, though. And evidently neither could the men to either side of her. She could smell cigarette smoke coming from both George and Bill. Her breathing slowed to match them.

“I’ve got a question for you,” George said a bit later. He turned his head to look at her. “You don’t have to answer though.” After she nodded, he continued on. “Would you rather go back to what happened and change that day in Paris but never get here, or leave things as they are?”

Alice looked at him. She straightened up. Of the men around them, only Bill and George seemed awake. With a sigh, Alice rubbed her forehead. “Honestly? I don’t know. Right now, Easy is all I have left. If I went back, I’d never have that. But maybe I’d still have my actual family.” She sighed. “I don’t know. This isn’t something I ever asked for. Life has… it’s taken and taken and taken, and given me almost nothing.”

“Yeah,” George agreed. He breathed in his smoke, looking forward. 

Bill finally spoke up, too. “Family is everything.”

“Family means more than blood, though,” she murmured. “And at least life gave me you guys.” Her eyes stayed closed. Alice willed herself to sleep. But she couldn’t.

An hour later, after trying to convince herself to sleep, Alice stood away from the men of Easy she’d camped out with. They had all drifted off to sleep. But she couldn’t. Her brain wouldn’t quiet. Looking down at them, she found herself smiling ever so slightly at their peaceful, sleep expressions. Alice turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?”

Alice glanced to her left. Harry and Nixon walked over. The latter, who had spoken, tried to keep his voice low. She joined them.

“I was going to check on everybody,” she said.

“Almost everyone’s asleep. Lipton, Hoobler, and Perconte are on guard, though.” Harry gestured back behind them. “Dick went to go talk to Strayer. We’ll probably get moving in another hour or so.”

“Did you two grab some sleep?”

Nixon nodded. “A bit. You?”

Alice shook her head. “No. But it’s alright. I’m not that tired. I slept well in bed last night.”

They walked a bit away from Easy’s enlisted. Picking their quiet way around trees and fallen branches and leaves, none of them spoke. They passed several groups of Easy’s men. At last they came to where Harry and Buck had set up for the night. The latter sat with his head against a large boulder.

“Comfy?” she asked, amused.

He opened his eyes. “Very.”

Alice chuckled. She, Nixon, and Harry all sat down with him. Nix pulled out his flask. After downing a large drink of the Vat 69, he passed it to his left, to Alice. She took it gratefully. The whiskey coated her mouth and throat. Harry declined, saying he had his own good stuff.

“I should’ve known neither of you would jump without alcohol,” Alice muttered. But she just smiled at them. “Guess it’s a good thing, though. It means I know who to go to when I want some.”

“Alice, you overestimate how well liked you are,” Nixon said. He shook his head. “The fact that you think you’ll be getting any meaningful amount of my stash-”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought we were friends?”

Nixon snorted. But he shook his head. With a smirk, he and Alice both started snickering as they made eye contact even in the darkness around them. Both Buck and Harry just shook their heads.

“How far are we from our rally point?” Buck asked a few minutes later. He stretched his arms. “I know Major Strayer talked about being there by noon?”

“Yeah, hopefully earlier,” Nixon said. “It’s probably another five hours. Depending on how long we stay here, we could be there as early as mid morning.”

Alice settled down with them. She listened to their quiet chatting, keeping to herself. Mostly they talked about strategy, about war news Nixon had gotten in battalion. He let them know how the others were faring, how the invasion progressed thus far. In the end, it was clear that the taking of Carentan would be pivotal to the overall success of the landing at the beaches. 

“How are they doing?” Harry asked. He had turned to Alice when Nixon quieted down. At the confusion on her face, he clarified, “The men, I mean. You’re closer to them than any of the rest of us.”

Alice shrugged. “They’re alright. Tired. But they’re in good spirits. I think they’re all trying to stay focused on now, and not one tomorrow, if you know what I mean.”

All three of the others nodded with her. Again, they quieted. Harry and Buck decided to both grab some sleep while they could. When Dick came back a while later, he found Nixon and Alice sitting in silence. 

“You two should both sleep while you can,” he whispered. Dick settled down to the right of Nixon. “We’re moving in another hour.”

Nixon just nodded. He let himself fall back against the ground, still smoking a cigarette. He looked up at the forest above him.

Alice looked back at him in amusement. Then she turned to Dick. “How are you feeling?”

He shrugged. “Fine.”

“Did you get any sleep last night, Dick?” When he shrugged, she sighed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Dick let out a small scoff. “No more than you want to talk about yourself,” he pointed out.

“Point taken.”

They settled into silence again. After a few more minutes of sitting and staring off into the woods, they both settled down to sleep. Nixon had put his cigarette out a few minutes before. Together they all rested and tried, desperately, to sleep.


	50. Chapter Fifty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is a flower.

Alice looked at her watch and saw it was nearly five o’clock. After reaching the first town, they’d taken a two hour rest and marched on until past dinner time. They’d now come to a town that looked to be mostly still in tact. A few broken, crumbling buildings lined the perimeter, but overall, the place seemed welcoming. Or, it would’ve been welcoming had it not been entirely deserted. 

The three platoons of Easy Company mingled together. While Dick disappeared, no doubt looking for Majors Strayer or Horton for orders, the men took the opportunity to lounge about and chat. For only two days since the jump into Normandy, it felt relatively calm. Alice didn’t trust it.

She found a covered archway into a large building. Across from it, she could see many members of Easy laying on the warm stone of the town square or sitting on steps near a statue. She wasn’t exactly hiding, but Alice didn’t feel like chatting with really anyone. Watching them would be enough. Her body ached as she settled down.

With her helmet beside her, she let her head rest against the stone of the archway. She closed her eyes. The shade offered a welcome relief to the heat of the summer sun. The steady murmur of the soldiers around her droned on in the background. Alice propped up one knee. She let her other leg lay flat against the ground. 

“Comfy?”

She opened her eyes at Harry’s comment. He also had removed his helmet, holding it dangling at his side. Dirt and grime covered nearly all of his exposed skin. She guessed she didn’t look much better than him. Alice didn’t respond. She just scooted slightly to the right to let him sit beside her. 

“France is nice,” he muttered. Eyes closed, he lay his head back and took steady deep breaths. “I could get used to this.”

Alice smiled to herself. She turned to look at him. “When the war ends, you should visit the south. Nice and Provence are beautiful places, well worth your time.”

“Yeah? Think Kitty would like ‘em?”

“Definitely.”

They fell back into silence. Both kept their eyes closed, heads against the wall. Small talk increased around them as the men continued to settle. Not far away, Alice could hear George and Lieb joking around. Liebgott had pulled a Nazi flag from a dead officer and seemed incredibly proud of his find.

The Nazi flag hadn’t been the only find of Easy Company’s trek since D-Day. Frank Perconte had been obsessive over his collection of watches he’d taken from the dead Germans, and most of the men had picked up trinkets here and there. Alice generally found it in bad taste, and had been relieved to find out George at least felt the same.

“You two enjoying yourselves?”

Alice opened her eyes again. This time, Buck stood in front of them. He seemed tired, but had a small smile on his face. It didn’t surprise her when he sat across from them against the other wall.

“Any word from Dick?” Harry asked him.

He went to respond, but a commotion from the square drew away their attention. Most of Easy had rejoined the 506th over the past two days, but based on the voice they heard, the last of the NCOs had finally shown up. They all grinned.

“Thank God,” Alice murmured.

Floyd Talbert’s laugh sounded from the other side of the square. As they all looked over, they found Tab, Shifty, Smokey, and Blithe weaving between their fellow soldiers of Easy. Skinny clapped Shifty on the back, and Liebgott and Talbert held a game of whose souvenir was cooler. Based on what she could see, Alice thought Talbert held a German raincoat.

“Dick wants us up and moving,” Buck told them. As they turned away from the little reunion, he nodded back to Alice and Harry. “We’re to follow F Company.”

Harry sighed. Closing his eyes again, he let his head hit the dark brick behind him. Alice felt about as enthused as him. But moments later, they both stood. Buck nodded. Leaving Harry to wrangle the men into formation, Alice went to find Talbert.

He stood with Bill and George, exchanging cigarettes and lights. Something had them all amused. Moments later, Harry’s call for First Platoon to form up had George leaving them alone. As the defacto head radio op, he had to stick with the CO, or in this case with Dick nowhere to be found, Harry Welsh. 

“What the hell took you so long, Sergeant” Alice demanded. 

At her voice, Talbert turned. He grinned around his white cigarette and gave a tiny mock salute. “Ey, Lieutenant! Glad you haven’t died yet.” Then his smile fell a bit. He looked at her cheek and pointed to the cut. “What the hell happened to you?”

Bill scoffed. Taking his cigarette out of his mouth, he used it to point at her. “She took a piece ‘a exploding C-47 in the face!”

“Dramatic, but yes.” Alice chuckled at his statement. She turned back to Talbert. “Cobb got hit in the plane, and I took a bit of what got him.”

“Would you all shut it,” Johnny heckled. He pushed past them and pointed up towards Harry, tapping Talbert on the helmet as he went past. “Noise discipline.”

Alice rolled her eyes, but shot him a small smile. Up ahead, FIrst Platoon had begun to move off. Behind them, Buck worked to get Second and Third up and ready to go. Returning to their squads, Talbert and Bill left Alice standing with her hands on her hips. She pushed past Johnny on her way up to Harry, and he scowled at her as she tapped his helmet as he’d done to Talbert.

The men of Easy marched in relative silence. Alice fell into step beside Harry. In front of them, Hoobler led as lead scout followed by Blithe, Perconte, and then Bull with his squad. High in the sky, the sun beat down on them. The heat and the bugs as they trekked through swampland did absolutely nothing for morale.

As the sun set beneath the horizon, the men grew grumpier by the minute. After only three hours of marching, they’d lost F Company twice. The other Company didn’t seem to know how to maintain a steady pace and keep in touch with E. With all the halts, everyone had short fuses, especially the officers. 

Alice had drifted back through Easy Company. The darkness around them only broke when they came upon burning wreckages of trucks or planes, or half burned oil drums. Every so often they had to pick their way over and around German and sometimes Allied corpses. The stench of death wove its way through the air and combined with acrid smoke and gasoline. 

When they stopped a third time, Alice had had enough. She heaved a sigh and began pushing her way up the ranks until she found herself with a glaring Harry Welsh and equally annoyed Dick and Nixon. 

“Yeah, I’ve got Hoobler and Blithe out there now,” Harry snapped as she approached.

“We lose F Company again?” Alice asked.

They all turned and nodded to her. It didn’t take long before Dick and Nixon decided to go off and look for F Company themselves. Alice didn’t even hesitate to follow. There was no way she’d let them wander off and get themselves killed without being there too.

“Stay back there,” Dick told her as she started to follow. He pointed to Harry. “Keep the men from doing anything stupid.”

“Stupid? You mean like you two marching off into the darkness?” Alice huffed and shook her head. “No way. Besides, this is France. You can’t tell me what to do when I’m in my own country.”

Dick didn’t respond. With a long look back at her, he just sighed. Nixon, however, could stop a small half hearted laugh from escaping. Together the three of them crept through the swamp until they reached a forested area not far away. They stayed quiet until they heard a gasp. Alice and Nixon both raised their guns, but Dick just shook his head. He led the way into a small cleared space and pointed to Blithe.

“He’s dead, Private.”

Alice looked past Dick. Blithe had stumbled back from a figure looming against a tree. But as she focused on the figure, she realized the German was, in fact, quite dead. Albert Blithe had been more jumpy than usual since he’d returned that evening, and it worried her. But as Alice went to look at him more closely, the deceased German pulled her attention away. Nixon moved past her as well, and the two of them looked more closely at it.

“Fallschirmjäger.”

Paratrooper. Alice only half listened as Nixon explained what she already knew to Blithe. Instead, her attention remained on the small, white flower pinned over the man’s heart. It gleamed in the low moonlight, its petals mimicking the stars themselves. Like a tiny drop of snow on the coat of coarse grey, Alice felt herself transported back to Germany. Edelweiss, the star of the Alps. A drop of snow in summer. Purity.

Alice hesitated, her fingers stopping mere centimeters from the petals. War had even tainted the Edelweiss. “Doch einmal werden wir wieder frei; wir werden die Ketten schon brechen.” 

“Come again?” Dick asked. He’d sent Blithe back to Harry, and so just the three officers stood together around the dead German. 

“Edelweiss. Many groups took it as their symbol,” she said. Sighing, Alice shook her head. “One of them is the Edelweißpiraten, the Edelweiss Pirates. They’re kids, adolescents who try to combat the Hitler Youth. My cousin Wilhelm was a member. I haven’t heard from him in years.” She shook her head. Then she tried to explain the German. “‘But one day we will be free again; No more to be restrained.’ Part of one of their songs.”

When Hoobler and a couple of F Company men joined them a little while later, Dick, Nixon, and Alice led the way back to Harry and the front of the advance of Easy. Alice didn’t talk much. Sudden longing for the Alps consumed her. One step at a time though. Alice knew that step one was secure Normandy. Step two would be secure Paris. From there, she could only hope the Allies would free all of Europe.


	51. Chapter Fifty One

  
On the fifth day since the invasion, they stopped at a small town not too far from Carentan. This was the edge of their line; Able, Baker, and Charlie companies had liberated it that morning. Not far ahead, the target for Easy loomed. Carentan. The current stronghold of their German counterparts. 

Clouds filled the sky overhead. Even at 1500 hours, it felt darker than it should’ve. Sporadic artillery fire and machine gun rounds could be heard in the distance, down the road. The impending large scale attack loomed. The restrictions on noise had been lifted as soon as they reached the town; the Germans knew they were there anyways.

After an hour briefing with Easy, Dog, and Fox Company’s officers, led by Nixon, she wandered out into the town. Night had started to fall. While noise discipline still wasn’t enforced, they were told to keep light to a minimum. The last thing they needed was for an ill placed fire to add a big target to their lodgings for the night. So Alice picked her way around fallen bricks in the dark.

She’d picked up a sniper variant of the Karabiner 98k from battalion. Of all the soldiers on the battlefield, Alice alone had experience with the German rifle. As she sat in the dark, in a deep door frame of a house that still stood in tact, Alice ran her hands over the weapon. It felt good to have her sniper rifle back.

Wood frame, black finish, telescopic sights still in tact, it reminded her vividly of her Maquis days. As much as she’d come to appreciate the American and even British weapons, the stolen German weapons still felt more familiar, more effective. The work of a sniper was quick, efficient, subdued. As much as she appreciated the necessity of soldiers running into enemy fire and throwing grenades, she preferred the accuracy and feel of killing from a distance. 

“You should get some sleep.”

Alice looked up. Gene stood in front of her. He held his helmet at his side and ran his other hand through his black hair. Dark circles under his eyes betrayed his own exhaustion. Alice just shrugged. Something, some emotion, had a stranglehold on her voice. Alice didn’t know if it was fear, or anticipation, or self loathing. But though she loved having the gun she’d first learned to shoot with in her lap, it also brought back more than its fair share of things she’d rather have forgotten.

When she realized Gene still stood in front of her, Alice sighed. He hadn’t moved. So she just shook her head. “Gene, I don’t feel like talking right now.”

“Any idiot can see that,” he told her. Easing himself down beside the door frame, against the brick wall, he sighed. Gene closed his eyes and let his head rest. But he kept talking. “You been mighty quiet since you got that gun.”

Alice’s voice caught again. She didn’t have an answer. What was she supposed to say? Every time her hands moulded to the grip, she remembered pulling the trigger. Not that she doubted that the Nazi men she’d killed hadn’t deserved it. But her thoughts drifted back to the question she’d been asked by Joe Toye.

What did she miss most from before the war? Herself. She’d learned fast how to survive, and much of the time surviving meant killing the enemy first. Alice wondered how her parents and sister would’ve felt, though, knowing how many times Alice had pulled that trigger and planted a bullet between the eyes of a German officer. Some part of her herself hated it. She could only imagine how much Bernadette would’ve been disgusted by her. But Alice didn’t have the luxury of regret anymore.

“Guarnere would have a party with the amount ‘a thinking you’re doing.”

“I’m sure he would.”

The two fell back into silence. Gene sat with his eyes closed, head against brick. Beads of his rosary clinked together as he moved them, reciting the prayers in his mind. With a silent sigh, Alice put the rifle down. She shifted her helmet off and, using her jacket as a pillow, laid down in the small space.

She woke up to Gene nudging her, the sun just beginning to rise. Her watch read 0600. They’d planned their assault for 0700. Without more than a curt nod to Gene, she moved away. The men had started to line up in formation for their walk to Carentan. Alice joined Harry.

“Sleep at all?” he asked her.

She nodded. “Some.”

They both checked weapons. Grenades, trench knife, gun, bullets. The list went on, each piece of equipment being meticulously noted. Before too long, Dick and Buck both came over.

“Ready?” Dick asked.

Both of them nodded. The men around them had gathered in formation, most of them shifting from foot to foot anxiously. Dick told them to get with their platoons.

“Alice,” he said. When she stopped, he looked around before nodding. “You’re back with Third Platoon, in the rear.”

“What? But I’m always with First.”

Dick sighed. “Listen, this isn’t my choice. But Horton wants you in the rear.” As she went to object, he just shrugged. “You’re the best sniper we have. From the rear you can stay out of the line of fire and do some damage.”

“Bullshit. Horton wants me in the back because I’m a woman,” she snapped. 

“Yeah, he does.”

“This is France. This is my home.”

“Yeah, I know.” He shrugged. All around them, men began to straighten up. They saw Harry and Buck both getting their platoons in order. He turned back to her. “If I were in charge, you’d be in the thick of things. You trained for this. But I’m not. So do us all a favor and take out as many men as you can from back there, ok?”

Alice glared. But she nodded. “Fine.”

With a last conciliatory smile, Dick wandered to Second Platoon. Alice watched him go. As the men of First and then Second marched off, she sighed. Alice took up her spot with Buck’s men.

The march to Carentan didn’t take long. The much larger city loomed up ahead, slightly on a hill. Good cover lined the road, with ditches to either side. Beyond the hedgerow, open fields surrounded the town. Alice watched as Dick and Harry took a minute to chat. She could only imagine what they said from where she crouched near Talbert in Third Platoon.

Buck moved back to them. With a tiny nod, he looked around. “Welsh is taking First in. Then Second, and then us. Stay in your squads. If worst comes to worst, find a buddy. Don’t clear a house by yourself.” He turned to Alice. “You know your job.”

“Yeah, I do.”

He only frowned a bit at her tone. Buck turned away, back to where Harry looked to be gearing up to go. Alice felt her heart clench. They moved. It didn’t take long before Second and then Third followed suit. And after that, it took but a moment for the shouts and bullets to start.

In the commotion, Alice felt herself tense, freeze, and then move sideways into the ditch to the left of the roadway. Fear seized her. But when she heard what sounded like George and Harry shouting, Alice pushed it down. When Dick came by screaming at them to move, she’d already scrambled out of the ditch. Talbert scrambled out after her, followed by Smokey.

The words that Dick yelled around her didn’t register. It faded into the background. As the men ran forward into the town, Alice scanned the town. Machine gun fire drew her attention first, but then she realized that was the least of their worries.

A single crack tore through the air. One bullet, one casualty. Alice grimaced. Sniper. Screams for a medic filled the area. Then another crack, another bullet, and another casualty. But Alice couldn’t see where it came from.

Between the sniper and the machine gunners, the whole of Easy Company was pinned down. They took cover where available: chicken coops, walls, doorways. After catching a glimpse of movement in a window, Alice poked her head around the wall on the outskirts of the city and pulled her trigger. A crack, a bullet, and a casualty joined the battlefield, but at last the dead was German.

At the thought, Alice nearly threw up. She tried to remind herself not to think of him as German, think of him as a Nazi. It made the killing easier. A grenade exploded moments later. Alice ducked. But she realized the grenade had ended the machine gun nest, and now they could flood the city.

Flood the city they did. Alice lost track of where most of them went. She stuck close to the walls. Whenever she caught sight of movement in a window, she pulled her trigger. After awhile, the haze of battle faded and she tried to more closely follow the movements of her companions. 

After watching George and Hoobler empty a building, she dashed for the open door. Leaving them to continue on their way, Alice scuttled up the creaking, half broke stairs. In the window lay the corpse of a Nazi. Alice pushed the bleeding body aside, trying to ignore the wide open but unseeing eyes, and set up in the window herself. From that third floor she could see quite a bit.

What looked like Lipton scrambled up some metal stairs. George and Hoobler continued their building clearing. Liebgott and Tipper teamed up together to do the same. Alice thought she saw Bull hurrying towards a wounded man. She nodded. Definitely Bull, based on how easily he hoisted the soldier over his back.

Alice tried to take out as many enemies as she could. They seemed to largely not realize her presence. After what felt like an eternity, she located some men firing shells into the town. Lipton had been screaming for them to take cover. But it’d left him out in the open.

Alice pulled the trigger. One of the four Nazis dropped to the ground, brains bleeding out. But they’d already done their own damage. Lipton lay in a pile of smoking debris. Ignoring some shouts from his direction, Alice took out the three other Germans, Nazis, before they could do anything worse.

In as quick a moment as the battle had started, it ended. Only their own machine gun fire could be heard as the streets cleared of the German paratroopers. Alice couldn’t release the grip on the k98k gun. Her knuckles turned white as she finally dropped it, bunching her fists. Alice stayed lying on her stomach, breaths heaving.

She stayed there for awhile, just breathing, just looking at the crumbling town of Carentan around them. Smoking fires near the outside of the town and holes in the pavement and destroyed walls told the story of what had happened. She couldn’t move. 

Alice looked across the street at the next building. Her body tensed. Movement in the window caught her attention. She’d been watching Dick and Nixon chatting in the street below, the latter just then moving off. Now across from her in the adjacent third story window, she saw the muzzle of a rifle.

Quick as she could, Alice reloaded her gun. At nearly the same moment, two shots rang out. She stopped breathing. The gun in the other window fell flat. She’d gotten the sniper. But then she glanced below. Dick crumpled against a wall. 

Alice didn’t breathe again until she realized that Dick had only been shot in the ankle. The terrible realization that if she hadn’t been split second quicker than the German paratrooper, he’d have caught Dick in a much worse spot. The adrenaline ripping through her system gave her the energy she needed to leave the house.

At street level, she found Dick grumbling to himself as he tried to move to the aid station. Alice would’ve found it funny if she hadn’t known just how close to having his brains blown out he’d been. She hurried over.

“Damnit, Dick,” she muttered. “What the hell are you doing, getting shot!”

He rolled his eyes, mouth in a straight line. He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Yeah, it’s nothing because I shot the goddamn sniper,” she snapped. Alice watched him struggling. “You better let Gene look at it or so help me God, I will shoot you myself.”

“Well, you could help me get there!”

Surprised to hear him snap back at her, she raised her eyebrows. As they stared at each other, Dick leaning against the brick wall behind himself in exhaustion and pain, and Alice with her hands folded across her chest, neither spoke. But finally she rolled her eyes. Offering him support, they moved off to the aid station. Neither spoke. 

When Gene Roe met them at the entrance, he took Dick off her hands. She frowned at both of them. Saying nothing else, Alice moved off. Her head spun. Her first taste of real, up close combat had been quite an experience, and all she wanted was a nap.


	52. Chapter Fifty Two

"Hey, Alice, Lip's got a matchin' wound with you now!"

Bill strode over to Alice as she wandered in and around the various buildings, checking for any sort of Intel she could gather. It seemed like any sort of intelligence that might've, and should've, been with a garrison holding Carentan had disappeared. It made her wonder where they'd gone. But as Bill made his way up to her, she shook herself from her thoughts and just looked over in confusion.

"Your face," he clarified.

Alice frowned. "But he's ok now?"

Bill scoffed. "Yeah, 'course he is. That bastard ain't about to get knocked outta this war in the first week."

They stood next to each other, surveying the area. Some men of Dog Company had come in to help Easy clear the area. In the center, as the sun beat down on them in the early afternoon, she watched the guys lounging about.

"How's Tipper?" she asked.

Bill's smirk fell. He turned to her and sighed. "Fuckin' Krauts got him good. Doc sent him right on to the hospital."

Alice nodded. She'd guessed as much. When she'd run into Liebgott after taking Dick to the aid station, he'd been shaken up. His testy mood had only increased when she pressed him on the issue so she'd left him alone. Her heart went out to them.

"Any other casualties?"

Bill sighed. He listed off a few men of Easy who'd been injured enough to warrant a hospital stay, but over all, they'd only suffered light injuries. Alice listened closely.

"Word is Blithe got cured by Lieutenant Winters. Cured 'is sight, or some other Jesus-type shit," Bill muttered. "Crazy stuff."

Alice nodded. She'd seen Albert Blithe leaning against a wall, unable to see. Later, after Dick had limped around outside to find the commanders, she'd gone back to see Gene. From him, she heard about Blithe's 'hysterical blindness'.

Blithe now lay on the warm stones with More, Malarkey, Muck, and Penkala. The four other men lounged about, eating or otherwise talking of random things. She couldn't quite hear them from where she stood in an archway with Bill. When he walked away to go find Joe, she just stood in silence, alone.

Turning back to the five men lounging in the center, Alice wondered what they were talking about. Beyond them, Ron Speirs picked his way around various men. Alice made to walk over to him when he stopped to talk to the others. She couldn't hear what they said, but she didn't miss how they all instantly tensed, all except Blithe, who wasn't paying attention, and Alton More, who just continued smoking and looked entirely unconcerned.

Ron moved away. She lifted her hand to get his attention. Meeting her gaze, he nodded and headed her way, only to stop in his tracks. Alice watched him turn back to the others. Malarkey, Muck, and Penkala looked all but terrified, especially the first of those. Before long, Ron turned away and headed back towards her.

"What the hell was that about?" Alice asked. She kept her voice low, half watching the other men and half paying attention to Ron.

"Seems your men don't want to get moving. They like it here," he said.

Alice scoffed. With a roll of her eyes, she shook her head. Then she turned back to him. "Stop terrorizing my men, please."

Ron suppressed a laugh. He didn't respond before walking away, leaving her alone yet again. She thought about rejoining him, or perhaps going over to the men that Ron had managed to scare, but at that moment, Harry Welsh wandered over.

"First Platoon, get up! We're moving out!"

From beyond them, she heard Buck and Dick also getting their platoons together. Once Harry had made sure his men were getting up, adding a second command for Blithe specifically, he moved to her.

"Time to go?" she asked.

He nodded. When she'd spoken with Battalion earlier, and later speaking with Nixon, they'd all agreed the force left to defend Carentan had been minimal. The need to push on and find the rest of the paratroopers drove them forward. So Alice fell into step with Harry and First Platoon.

They hadn't been walking for more than a few hours when morale dipped to a new low. While they were traveling through solid ground, taking the only way possible that the German troops could attack from, the grass came to their shins and most of the area was exposed, and a steady rain had started. Alice could hear Perconte complaining from not too far back, though from what she could tell, Hoobler and George both did admiral jobs humoring him.

A slight whistling on the edge of hearing caught her attention. Gunshots, and then moments later, a mortar exploded on the ground off to her left. Everyone froze. They fell to the ground. She heard Harry start shouting orders and did her best to pull the few men near her with her into the hedgerows nearby.

From there, things only managed to get worse. For hours they exchanged off and on gunfire. Before long, Dick came around and ordered them to dig foxholes. They'd be there for the night or until the Germans came over the hedgerows themselves. Alice sighed.

Alice's foxhole buddy was Harry Welsh. The two of them made quick work of the loose ground and before long, despite the rain and the mud, they a decent foxhole to hide in. Her muscles ached as she sat inside. The rain drenched her all the way to her bones. A tree root seemed to be sticking out through the back of the hole. But as night fell and the enemy fire died down, she did feel glad to have a place to sleep.

She would've been more glad if the bottom of her foxhole hadn't started to fill up. Alice groaned. She hadn't meant to make an audible noise, but based on the smile that grew on Harry's face across from her, she had.

"Not a fan of swimming yourself to sleep?" he asked.

Alice rolled her eyes. "No. Are you?"

Harry just laughed. Digging around, he pulled his canteen off his belt. It took only a moment to unscrew it before downing a drink. His smile made her suspicious.

"Is that water?"

"If I say no, will you report me to Dick?" he teased. When she just scoffed, he passed the canteen over. "Don't drink too much. I only managed to steal one bottle of Vat 69."

The whiskey went down her throat with a welcome burn. She closed her eyes and let her helmet rest against the mushy ground behind her. Rain continued to fall around them. Alice took another drink. On the edge of hearing, she heard familiar words.

Alice's eyes flew open. German voices echoed across the field despite the rain. She could hear them clearly. They wove a melody she'd never heard before, but the subject constricted her breath.

"Es war ein Edelweiß, ein kleines Edelweiß, Holla-hidi hollala, Hollahi diho."

"What the heck are they on about?" Harry muttered. But he looked at her in concern as Alice knelt up and looked out from beyond their foxhole. "Hey! Don't get shot."

Alice didn't listen. She tried to look through the hedgerow in front of them. She couldn't see them, though. Tears filled her eyes. An angry heat filled her body. The first German she'd heard in two years came in the form of a song across a battlefield, from men who wanted to kill her, and who she felt ready to kill right back.

"Sie trägt es mir zu Ehren an ihrem Sonntagskleid. Sie weiß, dass dieses Blümlein ein Männerherz erfreut."

Alice sighed. She couldn't see them. Sinking back down, she let the rain wash over her face. She didn't have the luxury of regret anymore, but suddenly the knowledge that these were men of her own homeland, her Fatherland, across the field... Men like her, serving a leader maybe they didn't really know but fought because they believed it was right... Her heart ached.

"I'm going to go check on Blithe," Harry said a moment later. "Dick told me about what happened earlier."

Alice just nodded. As he climbed out of the foxhole, Harry took back his canteen. Into the darkness he disappeared. She waited a bit before deciding to take a walk as well. Mud caked her pants and coat as she pulled herself up and out, but she didn't care. The rain had started to die down, a win overall.

Not sure where to go, she just made sure to stay on the Allied side of the hedgerows. She found George and Frank Perconte asleep in one hole, and later stumbled on Dick making his way along the line. She moved over to him.

"You good?" he asked.

Alice nodded. "I could ask you the same. How's the leg?"

Dick sighed, pulling a face in his exasperation. "It's been better."

With a tiny scoff, she nodded. As they walked together, she noted he only limped a little. It made her feel slightly better. Turning back to Dick, she smirked. "Bill's comparing you to Jesus now."

"What?"

"Well, you can cure the blind now, which apparently Jesus could, right?" Alice laughed at his expression. "Blasphemy? Maybe. What else do you expect from Bill."

Dick didn't respond. He just shook his head. They continued down the line until they found Harry Welsh sitting in a foxhole with Blithe. Dick called him out. While they talked about the intelligence she'd gotten from Nixon earlier, Alice watched Blithe in the foxhole. His eyes opened so wide he looked like he'd seen a ghost. Or maybe a whole lot of ghosts, given the amount of dead Germans on the battlefield in Carentan.

She thought about slipping in to the foxhole to talk to him. But Johnny Martin came by moments later. They nodded to each other.

"Hey Lieutenant. Nice singin' voices they've got, eh?" he muttered, glaring out over the hedgerow. Then he slipped in next to Blithe.

Alice gave a small laugh before shrugging. She left them alone to get some rest. Alice walked a bit further down the line, deeper into Third Platoon, or, where Third Platoon was supposed to be. She knew that quite a bit of Second had teamed up with Third in their foxholes. She passed Liebgott chatting with Alley in theirs, and then came upon Smokey and Talbert. She knelt down at theirs.

"You two look happier than I'd expect," she commented.

The two of them had grins on their faces as they sat in the wet, muddy foxhole. Smokey had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Beside him, Talbert seemed to be settling into his German poncho quite well.

"It ain't so bad doing guard duty in the rain when you've got a Kraut coat," Talbert said. His smirk only grew as Smokey laughed. "Jealous, Lieutenant?"

"So jealous," she teased.

As he scrambled out of his foxhole, Smokey gave him a shove. Alice left them to their business, Smokey looking to sleep and Tab heading to take over guard duty for an hour or so. Her trek along the lines continued. When she came to Skinny and Shifty's hole, they sat chatting quietly. Alice knelt beside them.

"Hey, Alice," Skinny said with a smile. He took an extra cigarette from his pack and passed it up. "Want one?"

She took it gratefully. "Thanks, Skinny." Plopping it in her mouth, she pulled out her lighter. Soon enough, warm smoke filled her body and the air around her, Alice sighed in relief. "How are you two doing?"

"Well, wish it was a bit drier, Lieutenant" Shifty admitted. "But not too bad, not too bad."

Skinny snorted. "It rains pretty hard in Virginia. We'll be fine."

"Good. Don't want you two floating away," she joked.

As they laughed, she stood away from the foxhole. The rain had almost stopped, though rain still dripped from trees when she walked beneath them. As she thought about going back to her hole, fatigue starting to overtake the stress her entire body felt, she heard a call for a medic. Before she knew it, Gene burst past her.

Alice went to follow, but Nixon stopped her on the way. Seeing him in the hedgerows confused her, as he was supposed to be back with Battalion. She stopped.

"What are you doing out here?"

Nixon snorted. "I'm a paratrooper as much as the rest of you. I had more intel for Ron and the rest of Dog Company. Thought I'd see how you were doing and let you know we're attacking them at dawn."

Warmth filled her chest. She forced herself to breathe and keep her emotions under control. She absolutely had enough to worry about without falling in love with a man who was married already. So she just shrugged. "I'm fine. A bit tired of being soaked through."

Nixon scoffed. "You aren't wrong there."

"You?"

"Tired of being soaked. Concerned we may run into more than just paratroopers when we launch the attack tomorrow. Intelligence didn't report any armored resistance, but I find it hard to believe they'd let Carentan go without them trying."

Alice sighed. He was right, of course. The idea that the Germans wouldn't send a whole bunch of Panzers to defend or take back Carentan seemed highly unlikely. Nixon told her he had to get back, and she turned back to find the source of the call for a medic.

She didn't find Gene, but she did find Ron talking to Blithe. She stood a bit away, listening in. Ron looked up and saw her, but Blithe didn't.

"What's your name, trooper?" He looked down at Blithe, who had crawled back into his foxhole.

"Blithe, sir. Albert Blithe."

The way his voice broke had Alice concerned. She should've paid more attention to his experiences since he rejoined the company. Standing in the shadows, she crossed her arms and listened to them.

"You know why you hid in that ditch, Blithe?"

"l was scared."

"We're all scared. You hid in that ditch because you think there's still hope. But, Blithe the only hope you have is to accept that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able function as a soldier's supposed to function. Without mercy. Without compassion. Without remorse." He glanced up from where he knelt beside Blithe's foxhole. Making eye contact with Alice briefly, he looked back down. "All war depends on it."

Alice shook her head. She watched as Ron moved away from the foxhole towards her. The tiny smirk on his face told her he knew exactly how scared he'd just made Blithe. He just plopped a cigarette in his mouth and joined her.

"Ron, can you do me a favor?" Alice said. She turned to him, taking her own cigarette from her mouth. She blew out a cloud of smoke. "Please?"

"Depends on what it is."

"Quit terrorizing my men."

Ron smiled and turned away. He shrugged. Before he got more than a few feet away, he turned back. "Oh, you may want to check in with your Sergeant Talbert. One of your easily-terrorized privates stuck him with a bayonet." At the alarm in her expression, he raised his hand to calm her down. "He's fine. Just needs a bit of time to recover."

Alice frowned but nodded. Letting Ron walk away back towards Dog Company's Second Platoon, she released a breath she'd been holding. Lipton was at the aid station, now Talbert would be at the aid station. Their list of NCOs had started to dwindle. Even with Joe Toye's promotion to Sergeant, they were still short, and they still had to get through the paratroopers in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See one-shot "The Carentan USO" for a small continuation of this chapter


	53. Chapter Fifty Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had never successfully managed to write three full length chapters from scratch in one day. Today I finally met that goal, lol. Enjoy.

Despite knowing that laying in the grass on a hill a hundred yards back would give her more protection and a better vantage point from which to snipe her targets, Alice again felt slighted at the posting. She knew it wasn’t Dick’s fault, or Nixon’s, but her anger threatened to spill over every time she thought about the location she’d been sent to. Alice lay on her stomach, rifle poised before her. Her watch said 0520. The sun had just risen, and with it, they prepared to attack.

But a mortar explosion down in the hedgerows jolted them all from their preparations. Alice peered down the sights. It didn’t take long to start seeing German troops. Nazi troops? Alice lifted her head away, breaking her view of the grey-clad soldiers. Her breathing quickened. Another mortar burst near the men below her.

Alice looked down the scope again. She saw the 506th scrambling into positions. Across from them, beyond the hedgerow, she saw the enemy advancing. Alice positioned her gun. Briefly she hesitated. As she saw the man in her sights raise his rifle, she pulled the trigger.

He collapsed. Alice took a deep breath. She moved the gun to aim at the next target. It surprised her how few men stood in view. It surprised her until a moment later, Alice caught a glimpse of greyish armor and a massive gun barrel.

Panzers. Alice shifted, pulling out a pair of binoculars that Nixon had gotten for her. She put the gun down and tried to take in a bigger picture of the battlefield. She cursed as she saw what looked like Harry and someone else rush into the open with a bazooka.

Alice pulled up her rifle again. Trying to slow her rapid heart and breathing, she stared down the telescopic sights. The first German to step into view who was a threat to the idiot that was Harry Welsh, she pulled the trigger on. But her Karabiner 98k couldn’t take out a tank. 

She watched in horror through her sights as a Stug tank rolled over the bracken and brush around the German lines and into the open. It took aim and fired. Alice didn’t see who exactly it had aimed for, but it had missed Harry. The bazooka the man helped aim went off. It glanced off the Stug’s armor easily.

Alice fired again. A few infantrymen began to use the Panzers as moving cover, and she intended to end that as quickly as possible. With her tenth shot, she downed a man who took aim at Harry. Alice held her breath as the Stug’s barrel moved to aim at Harry and the other soldier. She swore as it fired.

Harry still stood. She watched them set up the bazooka again after the close call. Alice stopped firing and just watched. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breath. The bazooka aimed at the barrel of the Panzer. The Stug tank moved forward. It drove up and over a small bump in the terrain.

Alice nearly screamed in joy as Harry and the other soldier shot the bazooka into the underbelly of the Panzer. It teetered before falling, broken to the ground. Alice picked off the one soldier who managed to climb out of it. He fell from the tank like a ragdoll.

Over the next five minutes, Alice did her best to take out any threat that the men below couldn’t easily handle. She spotted a German sniper and took him out just as she saw the muzzle of his rifle angling towards herself. The battle seemed to be a lost cause, though, and it wasn’t until she heard yelling that she realized the new grey armor rolling towards the battlefield was theirs.

The 2nd Armored Division had finally arrived. With all the gusto Alice had come to associate with Americans, the Sherman Tanks rolled into the fight. Almost immediately the tide turned. Alice lifted up her rifle again. With practiced ease, she picked off the now-retreating German paratroopers.

It surprised her again how quickly and without fanfare the battle ended. Americans whooped and hollered with joy as the Shermans destroyed the Panzer division. With the last of the infantry defeated or surrendered, Alice set her rifle down. She rolled onto her back, looking up at the early morning sky. She shaded her face with her arm.

Alice listened to the sounds of war fading. The machine gun fire had mostly finished. Shouts and bullets faded. Above her, white clouds drifted across the sky. For the briefest of moments, leaving her Karabiner untouched at her side, Alice tried to feel like she was home. The grass tickled her cheeks and her hands. Blue skies stretched endlessly in all directions. Home felt tantalizingly close. She felt that if she reached out, she could snatch it.

After lying in what little peace she could find for several minutes, Alice sighed. Rolling back onto her stomach, she grabbed her rifle and stood up. Below she could see the Americans congregating in groups. She took off her helmet. Running a hand through her sweaty, grimey golden hair, she felt the wind on her face. Then she turned away.

It didn’t take more than fifteen minutes to find the officers. Strayer stood to the side with the officers from Dog and Fox Companies, apparently mad as hell. Ron looked about as irritated and put at as Major Strayer, too. Moving to join Dick, Buck, Nixon, and Harry, she couldn’t decide whether to yell at the last of them first, or hug him.

“There’s the last one,” Nixon said, grinning. He pointed over to her as she moved to join them. “Put your helmet back on. Do you want to get shot in the head?”

Alice rolled her eyes and didn’t comply. She continued to hold her helmet at her side. The feeling of the gentle wind through her very disgusting hair felt too good. “I’m fine to die now. I’m in Europe.”

“No one’s dying right now,” Dick argued. 

Alice nodded. She rounded on Harry. “Speaking of, what the hell was that stunt you pulled?”

“What, you mean the part where I saved us?” He smirked. “You’re welcome.”

With a sharp, unconvinced laugh, Alice shook her head. But she didn’t push the issue as Strayer came over to join them. He still looked furious. Stopping in front of them, he nodded. “We owe Easy for holding the line while they pulled back. Good work.”

“Just doing our jobs, sir,” Dick said. 

“Better than they are, that’s for sure.” Strayer shook his head before walking away. “Nixon, we need to debrief.”

With a quick nod at the other officers of Easy, Nixon hurried after Strayer. Alice stood with the others, but she didn’t pay attention to them. Instead she looked around at the enlisted. Catching glimpses of the member of Easy chatting and sharing smokes set her more at ease.

They returned to the town of Carentan that night. The town became the base of operations for Easy over the next two weeks, as they fought off various counterattacks. The morale of the company remained surprisingly high despite the constant combat. Wounds were minor, and they got Lipton back in not too long. 

Alice lay on her back in the center of the square in Carentan. The sun began to set, blues, purples and pinks painting the sky above her. A few stars poked through the darkening sky. With a deep breath, she relaxed. Only First Platoon had been tasked with doing anything that day, following Nixon and Dick out on a small errand to investigate a farmhouse. 

To her right, Joe and Bill chatted quietly, smoking cigarettes as they sat on the ground. Beyond them, she could hear Skip, Alex, and Malarkey joking around. It felt peaceful, an odd sensation in the middle of a warzone. With the sun finally gone, and the beautiful painted sky dark, Alice closed her eyes.

The sound of pounding boots on hard pavement pulled her from her exhaustion-induced rest. Alice sat up. With Joe and Bill, she looked to where First Platoon returned. Harry looked more weary than she’d ever known him, his face drawn in anger and fatigue. Beside him neither Dick nor Nixon spoke. They all frowned. The enlisted who followed didn’t look much happier.

Pushing herself to her feet, Alice hurried over to the officers first. She went to speak to Harry, but the glare he sent her stopped her in her tracks. She let him pass. Turning to Nixon, she lowered her voice. “What happened?”

“Blithe got shot in the neck. Then we found out we’re getting pulled off the line.” He shook his head. “If they’d told us five minutes earlier, he’d be fine.”

Alice’s heart sank. “Is he going to make it?”

Nixon shrugged. He didn’t have an answer for her. As he and Dick went to find Strayer, Alice watched them go. Her heart went out to Harry. Where he’d disappeared to, she had no idea. Instead she decided to go find Gene. The man had offered to go with First after Spina had been off the line with the flu for a few days.

He stood by himself, gulping down water from his canteen. Based on his non-reaction, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see her approach. Before she could say anything he shook his head. “I don’t have any answers, Cherie.”

“Just thought I’d ask.”

Gene sighed and shook his head again. He let his arm drop to his side, canteen in hand. Alice looked at him carefully. Dark circles lined his eyes. She frowned. Pulling out her pack of Lucky Strikes, she offered one to her friend. He took it gratefully. She lit it for him.

“Merci,” he muttered.

She nodded back. “De rien.”

They stood together, leaning against a brick wall of a house in Carentan. Smoke wrapped around them. Alice tried to block out the sounds of war around them. She could, on the edge of hearing, recognize Sherman tanks rolling by the town, and still machine gun fire would occasionally drone in the distance. But these days in Carentan, the war had mostly faded.

The invasion had been deemed a success. With July just beginning, their month long expedition in France would be coming to an end. But it had been a success due to the sacrifices of the men. Smokey, Talbert, and Popeye had been transferred to a hospital in England. Blithe now would need intensive treatment, if he was to live at all. And that wasn’t to mention the twenty-two men declared Killed in Action. Most of whom hadn’t made it to the ground.

Alice sighed. Her cigarette had burned to the end. Dropping it, she squashed it under her foot. The stars above them twinkled in the clear night. Over the past week or so, the temperatures had dropped uncharacteristically. But she liked it. It felt like the Alps. 

With a last long look at the stars, Alice turned away. She said a quiet goodnight to Gene. Alice had set up quarters in one of the local houses alongside Bill and Joe. With thoughts of England on her mind, Alice decided to try to sleep.


	54. Chapter Fifty Four

**August 15, 1944**   
_Aldbourne, Wiltshire, England_

As soon as they’d landed back in Aldbourne, Alice had gone straight for Millie’s. It hadn’t taken long for them to plan a trip into London to see Maggie and enjoy the inner city, and in early August they’d set off. For well over a week they’d pub-hopped and spent time together. Although leaving France had been a sad affair, being able to see the Bratt family again had made it worth it.

When she got back to Aldbourne, the mission they’d been recalled for was cancelled. Alice thanked God because she was not ready to jump again, and had only gotten back an hour before they’d cancelled it. She’d yet to see anyone but the officers, and decided to make the rounds to see who was back.

As she walked down the main street of Aldbourne, the sun setting behind her, Alice caught sight of a group she’d been looking for. Talbert, Lipton, and Smokey strolled side by side. She jogged up to them.

“You three look a whole lot better,” Alice said.

They looked over at her, all smiles. Lipton’s wound across his face had begun to scar. Smokey didn’t look worse for wear, and Talbert seemed fine as well. She noted a purple heart over his chest.

“Courtesy of Smokey,” Talbert explained.

With a grin, Smokey winked. “Alice missed the Night of the Bayonet!”

Lipton and Talbert both groaned. But as they continued down the road, Smokey didn’t hesitate before reciting his epic poem. At each stanza, Alice just laughed more. When Smokey finally finished, she clapped.

“That’s fantastic,” she said. “Did you do that by yourself?”

Smokey nodded. “A master poet doesn’t need help.”

“Master poet?” Talbert scoffed.

As they started arguing, Alice just rolled her eyes with a smile. It didn’t take them long to explain they were heading to a pub to meet up with some of the other men of Easy. She tagged along.

Talbert turned to her “You just got back today, right? So you’ve not met the replacements.”

At the word, her breathing caught for a moment. Memories of Lieutenant Meehan and the other men killed flashed through her mind. She shook her head at Talbert.

“They’re not too bad,” Smokey said. “A bit green.”

“A bit?” Talbert laughed. He shook his head. “They definitely aren’t Toccoa men.”

Lipton sighed. “They’re going to have to learn what it’s like to be in combat, but let them try. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Bull’s squad is all replacements now,” Talbert added. “And then Ol Gonorrhea adopted one.”

Alice didn’t even try to hide her shock. “Bill? Hanging with a replacement? I was only gone for three weeks!”

“Oh, Malark’s a sergeant, now,” Talbert added, grinning. “You sure did miss a lot.”

They reached the pub. Alice still stood surprised, shaking her head at the news. It made sense though. Malarkey was well liked by everyone, and had a fantastic knack for leadership. She made a promise to herself to track him down before going to bed.

They opened the door. Alcohol, smoke, and laughter hit them as soon as they stepped forward. Most of the patrons inside were soldiers of the 506th. Other than the paratroopers, a handful of men and about half a dozen young women meandered about. At the far side of the room, Alice saw George, Buck, Joe Toye, and a young red-haired man playing darts. Between the door and the dart game, Bill Guarnere sat chatting up three men she’d never seen.

Lipton, Talbert, and Smokey moved off in the bar to find drinks. Alice settled herself at a table in the corner. She listened in around her. The dart game ended with laughter and jeers, and Alice saw Joe Toye looking more distressed than she’d ever seen him. But instead of going over to heckle him, she decided to watch the replacement that stood with them. 

The red-head pulled up a chair to the table where Guarnere still sat with the other replacements. Behind them, Johnny and Bull shared almost imperceptible smirks. Alice had learned early on in Toccoa how to detect their amusement.

“Hey, Sarge, I got a question,” the red-head started. His accent sounded unmistakably like Bill Guarnere’s. “Who’s this Lieutenant Klein we keeps hearing about?”

One of the other replacements leaned forward. “Yeah, we heard he runs his own missions.”

Bill’s smirk grew as he realized they didn’t know that she was a woman. He glanced back at Johnny and Bull. After a quick wink, he leaned in. “Klein is the only officer in this regiment that’ll scare ya’. Stay outta the way.”

“Really?”

Johnny chipped in as well. “Oh yeah. Klein’s one tough sonofabitch. Doesn’t take bullshit.”

“Where’s he been?”

“Probably off killing Krauts, ‘r somethin’,” said Bill. 

“By himself?”

From across the room, Alice just listened in. She tried desperately not to laugh as Johnny and Bill went on and on about her terrifying persona, about how to stay out of her way. She let it go on for several minutes. At one point, she caught Bill’s eye and he just sent her a knowing smirk. But eventually, Alice decided enough was enough. She stood up, drink in hand, and walked over.

“Evening, boys,” she said with a smirk. 

The replacements looked at her skeptically. She could see them taking in her entire person, no doubt focusing on the lieutenants bars at her shoulders. Both she and Harry had gotten the promotion to First Lieutenant upon returning to England, much to her surprise. But she hadn’t complained. 

“Hey, Lieutenant, you’re back!” George wandered over from where he’d still been heckling Joe. He sidled up to her and passed over a cigarette. “How was London?”

“Not bad, not bad.”

He glanced back to where Buck, Joe, and Malarkey all stood chatting. With a smirk, he held up a pack of cigarettes. “Joe got beat good,” he laughed. “Here.”

Alice took the pack he offered. With a smile, she turned back to where the replacements still sat in silence, watching her. Johnny, Bull, and Bill looked about on the edge of breaking down in fits of laughter, so she decided it was time to introduce herself.

“I see we got new faces since I’ve been gone,” Alice said. She looked to the three sergeants. “Care to introduce me.”

“These peewees are Hashey, Garcia, and Miller from Bull’s group,” Johnny said, pointing them out. “And-”

“Babe Heffron, one of South Philly’s own,” Bill added, pointing at the red-head. Then he smirked and turned to the replacements. “This is Lieutenant Klein.”

The change in the privates was immediate. Alice couldn’t stop herself from laughing as they all straightened right up and glanced from her to the other men. As soon as Alice had started laughing, the others couldn’t hold it in anymore. Soon enough Bill, Johnny, Bull, and George were positively cackling from the shocked expressions of the new men.

“I know Bill was going on and on about how scary I am,” she said, “but I promise I don’t bite.”

“Unless you’re a Kraut,” Bill chipped in. “Then you better watch out ‘cause her aim’s deadly.”

“Germans, not Krauts,” she muttered. But then she shrugged. “Thanks.”

“He ain’t wrong,” George added. “You’re one helluva shot.”

Just as Alice went to say more, Smokey’s voice echoed through the pub. They all turned to find him standing on a chair over Lipton’s shoulder. Someone clicked the radio off to give him their full attention.

“This here’s Carwood Lipton!”

“He’s already married Smokey!”

Alice laughed along with the rest of the men. It had sounded like maybe Skip Muck, which wouldn’t have surprised her in the least. They all moved forward to hear what he had to say.

“This here’s Carwood Lipton, the new Easy Company First Sergeant!”

Cheers went up. Alice joined in, clapping. Beside her, George whistled. With a groan, she grabbed at her ear and glared at him. He just shrugged, smirking.

“As befitting his position, he says he has an announcement to make.”

Lipton gave a small half smile and nodded. Shuffling from left to right, he waited for them to quiet down. Once they did, he nodded. “I hate to break the mood here, boys, but we’re moving out again.”

Silence filled the pub. Lipton walked off, almost remorseful as he went to get a last drink. Alice watched him join Talbert and Smokey at the bar. The rest of the patrons pushed in chairs and clinked drinks.

“I swear if this is another fuckin’ false alarm,” Bill muttered. He slammed his chair into the table. Then he turned to Alice. “You wanna hang with us tonight? Think Millie can spare ya’?”

“She should be able to do without me for one night,” Alice said. 

With George to her left and Bill on her right, they started down the lane. Dozens of other paratroopers joined them outside. It was quite a sight to behold. Behind them she could hear Skip, Alex, and Malarkey complaining as they walked along.

“So, the replacements. Any good?” Alice asked.

At the same moment, George snorted and Bill started laughing. They didn’t say anything more for several moments. But finally, George just shrugged and took out his cigarette.

“They’re not stupid.”

“High praise.”

Bill laughed. “Babe ain’t too bad. He’s just a kid though.”

“A kid,” Alice repeated. She looked at him in amusement. “Weren’t you barely old enough to enlist when you started training?”

George laughed as Bill began to protest. But then she reminded George he wasn’t that much older. With a smirk, Alice lit another cigarette. “You’re both younger than me, so don’t be making fun of the replacements for their ages.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Bill just scoffed and waved her off.

They continued down the lane towards the massive farmhouse that had been converted into lodging for Easy Company. Night had fully fallen. They navigated by the light of the full moon and a few scattered lamp posts along the way. While Bill and George started chatting about George’s great dart hustling, she fell quiet.

When they walked into the farmhouse, only two groups of Easy Company sat around. Christenson, Hoobler, and Mallet played cards and across from them Liebgott and Alley were comparing letters. George didn’t even wait five seconds before announcing their presence.

“Hey, when Toye walks in here, someone ask him if he wants to play darts,” said George. 

The men sitting around eyed him in confusion but no one objected. Clearly not getting the reaction he wanted, George decided to pick someone specifically. 

“Lieb, trust me, just do it.”

“What’s in it for me?”

George shrugged. “Satisfaction? Pissing off Toye?”

Liebgott went to reply. But instead he caught sight of her and grinned. “Hey! Alice, you’re back.”

With a dramatic roll of her eyes, she nodded. The others added similar choruses of hellos. It didn’t take long to fall back into quiet though as both George and Bill went to their cots and found mail waiting for them. Alice stood watching, smoking. As more and more men of Easy poured into the farmhouse, she moved to the side to watch. Watching had become her favorite past time when it came to Easy Company. It helped assure her they were safe.

Over the next hours, they played a lot of poker and Alice gained a bit of money. Skip read them a letter from Faye. Bill, not one to be outdone, added a quick note he’d gotten from Frannie. Mostly Alice just stayed quiet. Once she’d made some money, enough not to want to risk any more, she sat back against a wall and smiled. Tomorrow they’d have to worry about another jump. For tonight, tonight she only had to worry about whose cot she’d be taking for the night.


	55. Chapter Fifty Five

_Operation Market Garden_ , it said. Alice looked down at the papers on the table in the office of Regimental Headquarters that Intelligence used for briefings. Around her sat over a dozen men, including Lewis Nixon to her left. Colonel Sink and Majors Strayer and Horton stood at the head of the table, chatting quietly. The other men had splintered into their own groups. 

Alice just sat by herself, looking at one of the maps of Holland. She’d been to Holland repeatedly as a child when she’d still lived in Germany. Some of her extended family had even moved to the Netherlands, to Arnhem, in the 1930's including an uncle, aunt, and three cousins. They’d not been heard from since the war began. Her Uncle Frederick’s love for Holland and its language had been the driving factor in her decision to learn the Dutch language.

The 101st Airborne had been given the area around Eindhoven as their target. The bridges in the surrounding area needed to be captured before the Germans could either repel the assault or destroy the bridges themselves. If everything went according to plan, they’d be in Germany in no time. Alice didn’t want to get her hopes up, though.

Old men and children, said the intelligence. Except Alice didn’t believe it one bit. She knew how hard the Dutch resistance pushed against the Nazis, and if it had been just old men and children, they’d have liberated themselves already. Their militant activities had increased recently, adding to the other underground resistance movements.

Flipping through another packet of notes, Alice sighed. The plan looked solid, if the intelligence held up. But Alice feared what would happen if they failed. Not much news had gotten out of the Netherlands, especially not since around mid 1942. She wondered what they’d find when they’d land. What state would the country be in? And if they failed, in what state would they leave it?

“Lieutenant Klein, what do you know about the Dutch Resistance? Will they be able to help?” Sink asked. 

The question pulled her out of her thoughts. Everyone had turned to her. Alice just shrugged. She laid the packet back down. “My knowledge of the Dutch Resistance is minimal since I left Europe the first time. Back then they focused on non-violent resistance.” Alice gestured to the map. “Last I heard, they’re busy gathering intelligence for the Allies.”

  
Strayer nodded. “Can they be trusted? They’re primarily communist.”

“Of course they can.” Alice scoffed and shook her head. “Trust me, any member of the Resistance, no matter the country, wants the Germans out more than you do.” When the room quieted, she shrugged. Straightening herself in her seat, she continued, “We just need to be smart, and respect them. Don’t shoot them on sight for not speaking English,” she added with a snap.

Nixon shuffled in his seat next to her. The entire room seemed to freeze at her accusation. She regretted her words instantly. No matter how angry she still felt about the death of the French freedom fighter, she didn’t need to ruffle more feathers than she already did by purely existing. But her apology caught in her throat. Silence reigned for a few moments more.

“Right, boys. I want you to brief the men, let them know we ain’t calling this one off,” Sink said. “We’ve got a couple ‘a weeks to ensure this plan will go off without a hitch, so let’s use ‘em.”

Chairs squeaked against the wooden floors as the men got up and left. Alice turned to her left. Nixon sat still, desperately trying to hold in laughter. Her eyes narrowed. “What?”

He just shook his head, suppressing a smile as best he could. When he got up to leave, Alice followed him out into the hall. The other men pressed around them. Everyone hurried in different directions. Following Nixon outside into the warm summer air, she said nothing else. Above them, white clouds filled the otherwise beautiful blue sky. 

“I’m not sure why your little stunt back there surprised me,” Nixon finally said. He started smirking. “I should’ve expected it.”

“Stunt?” Alice huffed. “You mean telling them not to kill the people they’re trying to help?”

Again, Nixon let out a small laugh. He just shook his head. With his hands in his pockets and Alice with her arms over her chest, they strolled down the road. Nixon and Alice would need to bring Easy’s officers up to speed on the operation. Tonight Millie had insisted on having the officers over for dinner. They’d done it once before the Normandy invasion, and she said they needed to do it before the invasion of Holland. Until then, they had business to complete.

“Have you met the replacements?” Alice turned to Nixon as they made their way towards the space Easy’s officers had taken over. 

He shrugged. “Only briefly.” Unscrewing his flask, he took a drink of the ever present Vat 69. After a pause, he passed it over. 

Alice took it gratefully. With her own swig, she downed the alcohol. Despite her fondness for red wine, she had to admit that the expensive whiskey Nixon loved certainly tasted good. After handing it back, she continued her questions. “Thoughts?”

“They’re just babes,” he admitted. “Which is ironic given Heffron’s nickname.”

“Any idea why he goes by Babe?”

Nixon shook his head. “Not a clue. But the men love it.”

“I met them yesterday, briefly.” She smiled. “Guarnere and Martin had a good time trying to convince them that I was a scary, dangerous, definitely not female officer.”

Nixon chuckled. He shook his head. “They’re right on two counts.”

“Hey. I’m nice.”

“Not if someone crosses you,” Nixon replied. He snickered behind his flask. After a pause to take another drink, he just shrugged.

With an overly dramatic eye roll, she didn’t respond. Their boots hit the gravel of a path through a field. The farmhouse Easy had taken back over didn’t stand too far away. As they approached, they heard voices inside. Alice opened the door and led the way in.

Harry and Buck had somehow managed to commandeer a dart board. With Guarnere’s help they had started installing it on the wall. Along with Bill, the other NCOs stood around drinking and chatting. In the far corner, Dick stood talking with a young man, a Second Lieutenant with dark hair and a serious expression. The new Lieutenant Shames, she figured. At their entrance, no one turned. Only when the door fell shut behind them did they react. Everyone but the three handing the dart board stopped what they were doing to listen.

Nixon walked straight to the large table in the center. With a dramatic motion, he dropped a large manila file folder containing plans, intelligence, and maps. “Operation Market Garden. The next step into occupied Europe.”

They fell silent. Even Harry and Bill stopped tweaking the dart board. Everyone in the room gathered around the table as Alice and Nixon both began laying out key documents, maps, photographs, and anything else of relevance. 

Nixon sighed and nodded. With a sweeping gesture at the stuff they’d set out, he said, “This is bigger than Normandy, so don’t count on them calling this off.”

After several silent moments where everyone looked at each other and down at the information displayed, Nixon nodded again and dove into outlining the plan. Alice didn’t say much. She knew Nixon had it covered. Instead she went through her knowledge of Dutch in her mind, hoping that after not speaking it for almost three years that she’d still have at least a workable knowledge of it.

Once the officers and non-coms had spent hours pouring over the information, Dick dismissed the enlisted. With just the officers of Easy Company gathered, he looked around. They stayed quiet, waiting for him to talk. At last he nodded.

“Right. We’ll brief the company at 1000 hours tomorrow. Until then, keep looking over the information.”

Nixon nodded. “As we get further details,” he said, gesturing to himself and Alice, “we’ll let you know.”

Dick nodded, looking around at the others. “Dismissed.”

Harry and Buck didn’t leave, instead they went to check on the state of the half-hung dart board. Nixon clearly wanted to speak to Dick, but the man in question had other matters to deal with. He turned to Alice.

“Alice,” said Dick. “Have you met Lieutenant Shames?”

Alice looked at the man across from her. He seemed to hesitate as he watched her, his dark eyes looking her up and down. Alice shook her head. “Not formally.”

“Well, Second Lieutenant Edward Shames, this is First Lieutenant Alice Klein,” He turned from the man back to Alice. “She’s a liaison between Easy, the 506th, and the European resistance groups”

“Lieutenant,” said Shames, nodding. He extended a hand.

Alice took it. “Pleasure.”

Dick nodded, pleased at the introductions. “Shames is taking over Third, and Buck’s moving to Second.”

Nixon interrupted them, pulling Dick aside. With them gone and Buck and Harry otherwise occupied, she looked at Shames closer. Something about him seemed familiar. “Did you train in Toccoa?”

He nodded. “I Company, 3rd Battalion.”

“Not as an officer, though.”

Shames shook his head. “No, I was given a battlefield commission after the Normandy invasion.”

“Congratulations, then. Quite a feat.”

Shames hummed in agreement, but just gave a small shrug. They stood by the table still, looking over information. Finally he turned to her. “So, Lieutenant. There are rumors.”

Alice huffed. “Really? What’s going around now.”

He shrugged, suppressing a small smile. “Well, most of them disappeared after Normandy. But I think I still hear the one about you being a spy on occasion. Beware of Female Spies and all that.”

“Ah, the classic,” she agreed. 

Shames cracked a smile. With a small laugh, he shook his head. “I’ve been told by Welsh and Compton that if I want to get a read on the enlisted, you’re the one to come to. I guess it makes sense since you trained with them, right?”

“Yes. Until Aldbourne, I bunked and trained with the enlisted.”

“And after Aldbourne?”

Alice shrugged. “Since preparing for and after Normandy, I’ve been more involved with the officers than the enlisted.”

“I see.” He nodded, shuffling in place. 

Shames, Harry, and Buck all left the farmhouse not long after. Lunch time approached, but Alice, Nix, and Dick stayed behind to work on briefing the men the following day. They built display boards for various pieces of information. After hours of stapling, gluing, and paperclipping photos, maps, and documents to boards, they sat back to admire their handywork.

“Didn’t know you were so crafty,” Nixon said to Alice.

She huffed. “I haven’t needed to be crafty in years.”

With dinner fast approaching, Alice decided to head back to Millie’s. She reminded Dick and Nixon of the dinner being prepared. After being assured that they’d show up, she left. 

Alice picked up some produce on her way back home. When she reached the Bratt household, Millie had Madeleine setting up a large table in the backyard while she herself got to work on the meal. Percy ran around in circles in the yard. Alice dropped the lettuce and vegetables on the counter with a huff.

“Thanks, Alice.” Millie pulled out a chicken roast from the oven. “Get to work on the salad, would ya?”

“Say no more.”

And make the salad she did. Over the next twenty minutes, she whipped together what salad she could given the minimal fixings they had during the rationing. Stripped of her uniform except for her dress pants and a sleeveless white undershirt, Alice rushed about. By the time a knock sounded on the door, her face had flushed from the exercise.

When she flew open the door, Nixon and Dick stood outside chuckling about something. Nixon had a bottle of wine and a bottle of Vat 69 and grinned when he saw Alice looking at them. She stepped aside.

“Brought the good stuff, I see,” she joked.

He laughed. “Only fair, since we’re getting a good meal.”

When they reached the small kitchen, they found Millie getting out some china plates. She turned to look at them, wiping her hands on her off white and floral apron. She grinned when she saw them. “Lewis Nixon, I knew there was a reason I always liked ya’. Put the bottles out on the table. Maddie’s back there now.”

“Anything we can help with?” Dick asked.

Pausing to catch her breath, Millie looked around, hands on her hips. She bit her lip. Then she gestured to a bowl of rolls. “Take that out. Madeleine can show you what to do with it.”

With both of them being given very important assignments, Nixon and Dick ducked outdoors. Alice went to follow with the salad when another knock sounded. She spun around. When she reached the door, she found Harry standing outside. Alice grinned.

“Here. Take this, go join Dick and Nix in the back,” Alice insisted. “Millie’s in the kitchen and might have more for you to do.”

Harry chuckled but didn’t object to the salad bowl being forced into his open hands. As Alice stood in the doorway, relishing a bit of peace and quiet, she heard Millie saying a happy hello to Harry Welsh. It didn’t take long before she caught sight of Buck meandering down the road. Leaning in the door, she waited for him to show up.

“You’re late,” she said, heckling him. 

They went back inside. By the time they reached the kitchen, Millie had already moved everything out back so they went ahead and joined them. Percy stood with a ball in his hands, chatting up Nixon, Dick, and Harry at the table.

“No, no no, no, listen,” Percy said. He shook his head, fiercely against whatever had just been told to him. “S’possed to throw the ball. Not kick!” He moved closer to Harry. “Here. Here. Try.”

Harry took the ball from the toddler. As Percy rambled on and on about Harry’s ball throwing, Nixon struggled terribly not to laugh. When Percy came back from retrieving the ball, criticizing Harry’s technique in the way only a three year old could, Nixon heckled him.

“C’mon Harry, use better form.” Then he turned to where Alice and Buck came outside. “Hey, Buck, think you can show Percy you know how to throw a ball?”

“Yeah, let’s ask Mister Rose Bowl over there,” Harry added. He turned to the boy. “Percy, see if Buck wants to throw it.”

Percy turned around and hurried over to Buck. Millie and Madeleine came over from where they’d been grabbing the last few items. Millie watched Percy with a huge grin, hands on her hips. Shaking her head, she turned back to the others. 

“You got Perce started, he won’t be done correcting ya’ until you’re gone,” she said with a laugh. Then she turned to her sister. “Thanks for the help, Maddie. Ya’ can go on over t’ Lizzie’s now.”

Maddie wasted no time in hurrying out to go find her friend. With a deep breath, Millie shot the men at the table and Alice a look of fear. She now had to get Percy over here.

“Perce, table time!” She called across the yard to where Percy continued to give Buck lessons on throwing technique. “Come on, love. Leave Buck alone.”

“No, no, mum. He getting it,” Percy called back. “Mum-”

“Table, now.”

He rolled his eyes dramatically. But Percy hurried over and scrambled into his chair at the table. Dinner passed with good conversation, and entertainment in the form of three year old Percy Bratt. They talked long into the evening. Millie absolutely loved all the Easy’s officers.

When night fell, Millie went inside to put Percy to bed. He threw a tantrum, insisting he wasn’t at all tired and that he deserved to stay up with the grownups and talk to the soldiers. With plenty of tears and screaming, Millie dragged him upstairs. Dick, Harry, and Buck got to work cleaning inside while Alice and Nixon picked up in the yard.

“What a character,” Nixon commented, snickering as the last screams of Percy Bratt echoed through the door. 

Alice smiled. “He’s a sweetie.”

They fell quiet, only the sounds of plates stacking and Alice wiping down the table making any noise in the darkness of the backyard. With a sigh, Alice shook her head and sat down. Nixon looked over at her.

“What’s up with you?”

“Just thinking.”

He scoffed. “Let me guess. Wondering what it’d be like?”

She looked at him sidelong. With a shrug, she shook her head. “I couldn’t bring a child into this world. Not this one, the one where my own people are killed for no reason and hated for their beliefs. It’s not an option.”

Nixon hummed in agreement. He took his glass of Vat 69 and topped it off. After a brief pause, he downed a drink. “Marriage is overrated anyways.”

Alice didn’t know if she believed that. She’d seen the beauty of her parents’ marriage, the love they shared between themselves and their children, with her. Her expression fell as she stared, unseeing into the dark. What would it be like? Alice knew she couldn’t have it, the sort of peaceful wonderful love that her parents had experienced. 

With a frown, she stood up and shrugged. “Come on. We need to get these inside before those three burn down the house or something trying to clean.” But she paused in her movements.

Nixon looked at her again. He passed over his glass. “Maybe someday.”

“Yeah, someday. Maybe.”


	56. Chapter Fifty Six

The morning lecture ended with Nixon giving the same warning as he’d given the officers. They would not be calling this jump off; too many people were involved, too much money, too many plans. Alice watched the men’s faces turn somber. The one point of amusement came when they realized they’d be under British command for this operation.

They’d have about a week and a half until the jump. As the enlisted filtered out, some grumbling more than others, Alice just followed with a smile. Listening to Guarnere rant about the British never ceased to amuse her. 

“Better watch your mouth, Gonorrhea,” she teased. “If Millie hears you talking like that, she won’t ever let you come over for dinner again.”

Bill rolled his eyes. “Maddie likes me too much. Ain’t no way Millie’d kick me out.”

With a laugh, Alice shook her head. He wasn’t wrong. Madeleine loved to be around Bill and George the most. She found them amusing, and strange. 

They moved together back towards the designated mess halls. Second Battalion’s swarmed with the other two companies already, so finding a seat wasn’t the easiest. In the end, Alice decided to sit outside on a few picnic tables that had been set up. The pasta tasted better than she expected.

Bill, Joe Toye, Malarkey, Skip Muck, Alex, and George all joined her, and to her surprise, Babe Heffron. Bill practically dragged him into the seat across from Alice. Though he looked uncomfortable, he seemed equally curious, glancing at her not infrequently despite the conversations to his right. Alice had to suppress a smirk.

“Now, Babe, the one person yah gonna wanna make friends with is her,” Bill said. They’d already gone half way through the meal, but apparently now was the time to pull Alice into conversation. “She’s got the Colonel’s ear.”

“Right, that’s an exaggeration,” Alice said. Shaking her head, she just kept eating.

But Bill wouldn’t drop it. “Not only she’s got Sink at her beck an’ call, but I’m pretty sure all of Easy’s officers love her.”

“What’s not to love,” George called from down the table. He smirked. With a quick wink, he slipped from the table to join them at the other end. He pulled out a cigarette. “Except that she likes to take my smokes.”

“Hear that, Babe? She’s great. So you better treat ‘er right.”

Alice shook her head and turned from George and Bill back to Babe across from her. With a small smile, she just sighed. “Babe, they’re trying to flatter me. I don’t think you’re going to have a problem with me.”

He nodded. “No ma’am.”

“Drop the formalities. Unless we’re around the officers, you can call me Alice, since everyone else does.” She smiled. “I guess it’s sort of an Easy Company tradition. First names.”

“Except around the officers, or men from other companies,” George added. 

Joe Toye leaned over. “You show her the respect she deserves.”

“Alright, alright. I think Babe gets the point.”

Just as he went to respond, they saw Vest coming over with a full mail bag. Everyone cheered as he came to the table. Everyone got letters. Meals forgotten, they tore into their mail. But when Vest came to Alice, she looked up in surprise.

  
“Lieutenant, when I was cleaning out the mailroom last night, I found a pile of letters addressed to an Adélaïde Klein. Ring a bell?” He looked confused, but held out the six letters. 

Alice froze. Who would be writing her, and more than that, who would be writing her as Adélaïde. Without even thinking, Alice stood from the table. She took the letters. With a small thank you, Alice moved away and dumped her food tray.

Her heart raced. The script looked fine, well practiced. But the ink frayed in places, and hastily written. She tore the top one open. To her shock, it was written in German. The writing inside didn’t match the outside. As she scanned the letter, her heart sank.

_Dear Addy,_

_Mama said to write a letter to someone to make myself feel better. Things here have gotten very bad. My best friend from synagogue disappeared last week, Lotte. I overheard Papa say that the Nazis are taking Jews somewhere. We don’t know where, though. Mama says we may leave if we can._

_Love,_   
_Elsa_

The letter had been dated September 1943. 

Her hands trembled as she reached for the next one. Alice didn’t realize she’d stopped in the middle of the walkway between the Mess and the fields that housed Easy Company’s farmhouse turned bunkhouse. As she tried to tear open the second letter, her fingers fumbled about the envelope. The same messy script scrawled the second.

_Dear Addy,_

_Things are very bad here. Mama and Papa said we’re going to be leaving. They said we can’t go back to Germany though. I don’t know where we’re going. I’ll still try to write you though, even if we can’t send these. I wrote some for Bernadette too._

_Love,_   
_Elsa_

The second letter had been dated December 1943.

Her heart raced. She slipped the piece of paper back into the envelope. Heat filled her chest, tingling fear racing through her. Her breaths came short. Her chest hurt as she gingerly tore the third.

_Dear Addy,_

_We’re in hiding now. A family in Amsterdam took us in after some nice people who don’t like the Nazis helped us get there. We wanted to go across the sea, but we can’t yet. It’s too dangerous. I heard Mama say the Nazis are taking anyone who’s a jew. They say horrible things are happening to people like us. I heard something about camps for Jews to work._

_Here isn’t so bad, except I don’t like being so close to James and Tomas. We’re stuck in a cellar. But there’s another family here, a mum and a daughter named Mila. Mila’s nice, she’s my age. She’s Dutch, and she’s helping me learn French, like you learned. I know I haven’t seen you since I was little, but I like to think you’re getting these. Papa said France isn’t much better than here though, so I guess I just hope you’re alright. I just want to know why the Nazis hate us. We’re German too. Why are they hurting us? I hope you’re alright though, Addy._

_Love,_   
_Elsa_

Dated February 1944. 

The Elsa that Alice could picture wasn’t over six with light brown curls, brown eyes, and a beautiful smile. That had been in 1938. Now she’s twelve…

Only if she’s alive. Alice stopped breathing. She hadn’t spared much thought recently to her extended family. She hadn’t even heard from Elsa in five years. All her thoughts had been on her immediate family. Guilt crashed into her all at once. She hadn’t spared a thought for the others, for her cousins. 

Footsteps sounded behind her. Harry moved up next to her, apple in hand. He took another bite of it.

“How are the men doing?”

Alice didn’t answer at first. The letters dropped to her side as her hand fell away. She took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong?”

She paused. Her thoughts scattered. So much to say, so much to think about, so little information… Alice turned to him. Three open letters, three sealed. Harry looked at her, eyebrows furrowed in concern. She held them up.

“Vest found some letters that hadn’t been sent to me.” She paused.

He frowned. “Why not?”

“They were written for Adélaïde Klein, not Alice.”

It took a moment for Harry to register what she’d said. Then his eyes widened. He looked from her face to her hands, to the letters they held. “Who are they from?”

“Elsa, a cousin of mine. She’s twelve, or, would be, if she’s alive,” she added. “She’s one of the cousins who lives in Holland.”

Harry let out a long breath. As they stood next to each other, looking down the road towards the enlisted men’s housing, he just shook his head. Rustling through his jacket, he pulled out a canteen. “Here.”

Alice took it without thinking. She downed the drink, not at all surprised to taste whiskey, though it certainly wasn’t Vat 69. She thanked him. After a moment, he asked her what the letters said. She took a moment to summarize them.

After another long pause, he turned back to face her. “Are you going to open the rest?”

Her breathing faltered. Alice turned to him as well. She looked at him closely, holding his gaze. She could feel her muscles tensed, her jaw tight and set. Fear constricted her entire body. With a quick look away from Harry, she tucked all six letters into her breast pocket.

“Right, well, if you want to grab dinner with us, we’re hitting the pub.”

With a small, forced smile, she turned back to him. Alice shook her head. Her tears wanted to form, but as always, she held them back in the presence of a member of Easy. “Thank you, but no. Millie’s invited a few of the enlisted over to the house for dinner. I’ve got to help get ready for them. They’re a bit more rambunctious than you all.”

Harry snorted in amusement. He nodded. “That’s true.”

Leaving Harry behind, Alice left the area to head back to town. She’d been on her way to check in with a few of the men who had left the briefing quickly before heading home, but the letters had sapped her energy. With a heavy heart, she went into the Bratt home.

She found it empty. Millie had a piano, though. With what small energy she did have, Alice sat down to play La Vie en Rose. It didn’t take long for her to close her eyes and tune into the melody Alice blocked everything else out. The world melted from her, the pain and fear replaced more with bittersweet nostalgia.

“Now I know ya had a rough day.” Millie stood behind her in the entrance to the room. She held a vase of flowers in one hand and a brown parcel in the other. “Ya only seem to play that one when you’re upset.”

Alice turned from the bench. She shrugged, averting her eyes for a moment. “I’d rather not say, if that’s alright with you.”

“Course it’s alright. But you’re gonna need t’ talk with someone, love, if it’s that serious.” Millie gestured with her head towards the kitchen. “Come on, though. We’ve got to get ready for those boys of yours.”

Alice smiled. She got up from the piano, covering the keys with reverence. Preparations for dinner took the entire afternoon. Madeleine came home to help with Percy. Before long they once again had food enough for a feast, gifts from several of the neighbors who didn’t host soldiers. 

Their knock sounded while Alice sat on the grass in the backyard. She didn’t hear it, only hearing the voices of her friends when they came through with Millie. As Percy showed her his rock collection, she didn’t even greet them. She could hear them each though: Lip, Tab, George, Joe Toye, and Bill. She cracked a smile when she heard Lip and Joe thanking Millie profusely for dinner. She of course would have none of it, insisting they were always welcome at her house provided they watched their language around the kids. It didn’t even take five seconds for Madeleine to protest.

“I’m not a child. I hear worse from the boys at school.”

“Maybe, Maddie, but I’m your sister and I’ll raise ya’ the way mum would’ve wanted. And she would’ve wanted ya’ to be a proper young woman.”

Alice turned back to Percy. He continued to ramble on mostly coherently about the various stones and pebbles he’d found on his walks with his mother. Some were grey, some white, some black. Alice smiled. “You’ve got a good collection here.”

“I try. I collect them with mum.” He handed her a smooth, light grey speckled stone about the size of his small palm. “Here. Mum says flat stones are lucky.”

Alice took it. It took only a moment for her to reach her arms out. Percy fell into her instantly for a hug. She felt his warm cheek against her own, his brown hair brushing her skin. For a moment, she felt her tears returning. When he backed away, she cleared her throat and thanked the toddler. 

Suddenly, as Percy walked away, she heard and felt someone crouch next to her. The cigarette smell on the man’s clothes betrayed him instantly. Alice looked right. “George.”

“I want to eat so if you could, you know, get off the grass…”

Alice scoffed but accepted his help up. They all wore their dress greens, and Maddie chatted with Bill and Joe as she moved stuff outside from the kitchen with her mother. She went on and on about the boys at school, and how they wanted to enlist, and how she told them the Yanks were better than they. Every time she said something to that effect, Alice saw Millie flinch.

Clearly Lipton noticed too, because as they all settled down at the table and Maddie continued her tirade about the amazing Americans, he shook his head. “If it weren’t for your people, the war would’ve ended ages ago.”

Maddie shrugged. “I suppose you’re right. But it’s you Yanks winnin’ it now.”

It never ceased to amaze Alice just how fast and endless Madeleine could talk if she wanted to. Some days she wouldn’t say much at all, but others she went on forever, especially around the soldiers. But Millie had the opposite. Her love for the Royal Army didn’t stop. Hearing her own sister belittle the work her husband had died for hurt, deeply.

“Madeleine, shut your mouth. You’re just repeatin’ the same stuff you hear from Lizzie’s mum.” Millie put her fork down. “Yeah these boys are doing what needs t’ be done, but your uncle and your father died in this fight. So I don’t wanna hear another word outta your mouth about us versus them.”

The table went silent. It didn’t take long for Percy to interrupt though, insisting in no uncertain terms that he very much did not need to eat his carrots and peas, and that the hedgehogs who lived at the back of the yard would appreciate them much more. The whole table started laughing.

“Do ya know when you’re shippin out?” Millie asked. The meal had come to an end, but they still sat around the table. “Sometime soon it seems like.”

Alice shuffled where she sat. “Can’t tell you exactly, of course. But yes, soon.”

“Well then, best of luck. May God watch over you,” she added. Turning to the side, she saw Percy still pitching a fit. “Bloody hell, he has been in such an awful mood these last few days. Excuse me. Maddie, put up the dishes while I put him down for the night, please.”

With that, both the Bratt women disappeared, leaving the men of Easy with Alice in the garden. They chatted without concern. She found it a welcome change to the general anxiety of earlier, after the briefing. But as they chatted, her mind wandered again to Holland. Only now instead of just worrying about their military target, she had to wonder about her family’s fate. She could feel the letters in her pocket, untouched. They weighed her down.


	57. Chapter Fifty Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. These past two weeks have felt like an entire year. With COVID-19 shutting down the tourism industry, I lost my job and my apartment (Disney provided me with both, as an intern). Yesterday I made the 14 hour drive to my parents' house, and now I've got potentially months of no job, and I'm not in classes. I'm fortunate that I don't really need to work thanks to my parents. Nevertheless, I have a feeling this social distancing is going to be horrible for my mental health.
> 
> That being said, there are small mercies. I will have much more time to write. My friends and I are doing a Coronawrimo, both to keep us writing and keep us from going out and getting infected. So hopefully I'll get plenty of chapters written while the whole word is shutting down.
> 
> Stay safe, friends. Don't panic, but please stay smart and cautious.

Twenty four hours. Alice had twenty-four hours to prepare mentally for her next jump. As she stood out by the road and lamp post in front of the Bratt house, she sucked in the smoke from a Lucky Strike. Her back leaned against the small wall and fence that divided her lawn from the one housing Ron Speirs. The sun had yet to rise. Just on the horizon, light began to flood the sky casting around gold, blue, and pink hues like a watercolor painting.

Her left arm hugged her chest, and her right elbow balanced on it as she held the cigarette to her mouth. She sighed. The white smoke blew out into the air around her. Not far, she heard a rooster crow. Her thoughts wandered.

She'd been given what Intel the Allies had on the Dutch resistance in Holland. Names filled the page, all Dutch, mostly male. She knew some of them were probably fake, just code names used to protect themselves, their organizations, and their families. Most belonged to the Raad van Verzet, the Resistance Council. They were poets, sculptors, priests, citizens.

A few were female. Alice had never heard of Jacoba van Tongeren. She had, however, heard of "the girl with the red hair." Yet even in the documents provided to her, she had no name to associate with the phrase. Evidently the girl with the red hair had friends, though, as two other girls were referenced.

As Alice stood smoking in Aldbourne, she wondered what they would find in the Netherlands. She remembered fields of green, tulips and flowers abundant across the countryside. She remembered the people. She remembered how she'd heard some of the Dutch speaking out against the antisemitism coming from their neighbors in Germany.

But she also remembered being a silly little girl of sixteen, visiting her cousins in the outskirts of Arnhem. She'd complained endlessly to her mother about the way Elsa wouldn't stop following her. All she wanted to do was go explore on her own, not be followed by a five year old girl. She got enough of that from her younger sister. Why couldn't Elsa go follow Bernadette?

Alice sighed. She took the cigarette out of her mouth one last time. With the spark gone, she dropped it to the ground and crushed it beneath her heel to make sure it would stop smoking. As the sun peeked over the row of houses across the street, Alice took a deep breath. She turned away.

Staring up the path at the Bratt house, she stopped again. Millie said she'd have breakfast on the table by 0800 if Alice could make it. And she could. Or, she had the time. But she wasn't sure she wanted to. Her unease started turning into anxiety with every moment that passed.

Instead of going inside to get ready for breakfast, Alice turned away. She looked down the road into Aldbourne. After another brief moment of hesitation, Alice set off. Her feet took her through the center of town. Few people moved about, those that she did see usually being shop owners preparing for the day.

After buying an apple, she headed towards Headquarters. The sun had finally risen. Soldiers moved around in a hurry. Today they'd prepare their gear. Tomorrow they would jump. The days that would follow remained a mystery.

Moving towards the stairs of the Regimental Headquarters, she stopped as the door at the top opened. Nixon and Dick took the stairs down in surprisingly high spirits. The latter smiled as Nixon snickered around a new cigarette.

"Good morning," she said.

"Hey! Good morning to you, too!" Nixon moved to the side to let a few more officers past. He smirked. Taking out his cigarette, he stood taller. "What's different?"

"With what?"

Dick rolled his eyes, but Nixon just continued on. "With us."

As she tried to figure out what he meant, she frowned. Their hair looked the same. Liebgott clearly hadn't gotten a hold of them recently. Nixon still smoked. Dick still didn't. But then she saw what he meant.

"Captain's bars?" Alice folded her arms across her chest. She snorted a small laugh. "Congratulations on the promotions. But I'm not going to salute."

Both of them laughed. Alice joined in a moment later. With a shake of her head, the trio moved off to find the enlisted. Alice figured Nixon had other things to do, but clearly he had no intention of doing them yet. As Dick went to gather up Shames, Buck, and Harry, they meanderd more slowly to Easy's base of operations.

"Brushed up on your Dutch, yet?" Nixon asked.

With a frown, she nodded. "I've done what I can. It's been years. Hopefully when we get there, I'll be able to remember more."

"Better be careful, you're only good to the army when you can speak a foreign language."

Alice didn't laugh. The prospect of her usefulness being at an end had crossed her mind as soon as she realized her Dutch had become so rusty. Paris was theirs now, and had been for a few weeks. But the idea of being dropped back into Paris and leaving the 506th didn't bring much comfort.

"You know I'm kidding, right?"

"Yes."

Nixon looked at her more closely. "You don't sound convinced."

"I don't need a lecture, Nixon, so stop right there." Alice regretted her anger as soon as she saw him pause in his step. Berating herself, Alice pinched her nose.

"Jesus Christ, you've been getting more and more snippy for the past week. What the hell is wrong?" He folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "You got touchy before D-Day but this is different. Now you're not scared, you're angry."

Her anger flared again. "So fucking what."

"And there it is again. If I wanted to get yelled at I'd just call my wife. So what the hell is wrong with you? I half expected you to be bouncing off the walls in excitement since Paris was liberated." He moved in front of her as they stood on the dirt road in the field. Pointing at her he continued on, "Ever since that briefing a week ago. Shouldn't you be glad to be heading back into the mainland?"

She stood in silence. After a few moments staring at Nixon, she bit her cheek and turned away. Her arms crossed over her chest. "This jump is more personal."

"Than what? D-Day?"

"Yeah."

"How is that even possible? You'd been wanting to get back to France since you had to leave it!"

She clenched her fists. Why did he have to be so nosy? Why did he have to care so much. It bothered her, not because she didn't feel touched by his concern but because every time she thought about it, it reminded her how much she wished there wasn't a wife in the way. And having that thought upset her more than anything else.

"Fine." He just shook his head, clearly annoyed. Nixon continued walking towards Easy's base.

Alice wanted to scream. But she just sighed and tried to explain. "I got some letters a week ago."

Nixon paused ahead. He turned back to her, trying to look unimpressed but failing. When she caught up to him, he took out a cigarette and passed one over to her. Offering her a light, he waited for her to continue and did his own. "Who sent them?"

"A cousin of mine, Elsa Klein. They'd been sent to me last year."

He looked confused. "Why'd you only get them now?"

"They weren't addressed to me. They were addressed to Adélaïde Klein." She sighed and shook her head. "I hadn't heard from Elsa or her family in five years. They'd lived in the Netherlands. But I hadn't heard from any extended family since then so I hadn't given them much thought in the last few years."

"What'd the letters say?"

She sighed. "I only opened three of the six. Elsa's twelve now." Her words caught in her throat. "Or, is, if she's alive."

"You think she's dead?"

"She sounded so scared. The third one I opened, my uncle had gotten them to Amsterdam and into hiding. Elsa told me the Nazis were rounding up Jews. Said something about work camps."

Nixon frowned. "Maybe the Nazis are making the Jews build weapons?"

Alice shrugged and looked down the road to Easy's base. They weren't far now. "Maybe?"

As silence fell between them again, Nixon just watched her. After half a minute, he took the cigarette out of his mouth and pointed to her with it. "You think you'll find out more when we jump."

"I don't know. And I'm not sure... I'm not sure I want to know," she admitted.

Neither said anything else. There wasn't anything else to be said. Soon they moved down the road again towards Easy. When they got there, Buck sat playing cards at a table outside with Malarkey, Guarnere, Luz, and Toye. For a moment, Alice had to just smile at their antics. After D-Day, apparently none of them got stressed over their next jump.

"Gambling, Buck? Dick won't be happy," Nixon said. He strolled over, one hand in his pocket and the other on his cigarette.

"Ey, morning Lieutenant," George said. Then he saw Alice. "And other Lieutenant."

Alice grinned, moving to stand next to Nixon. "That's Captain Nixon, now, Sergeant."

Buck also smiled. "So you got the promotion?"

As the men at the table added their congratulations, Nixon just pulled out his flask. He raised in a tiny salute before taking a drink. He told them that Dick Winters had been promoted as well. "He shown up yet?"

Buck shook his head. "Nope. George Luz, you owe the pot another dollar."

With a roll of his eyes, George tossed in another bill. The game continued on, Alice and Nixon both watching. In the end, Malarkey came out ahead. Alice couldn't stop smiling at his excitement over winning the pot of cash.

They moved inside where most of Easy Company had gathered. It was a bit tight even with the major expansions done to the structure. After a few minutes of meandering about, chatting with some of the enlisted, the doors opened again. Dick Winters came inside with Harry and two other lieutenants. Alice looked at them. She moved up towards the other officers even as the enlisted moved a bit more to attention.

"At ease," Dick said. "As of this morning, there have been some changes to Easy Company. Lieutenant Harry Welsh is now my X.O. Replacing him at First Platoon is Second Lieutenant Charles Hudson, and assisting him will be Second Lieutenant Thomas Peacock. After this briefing, I want each platoon to meet up with your Platoon Leaders for further instructions."

Alice didn't miss Johnny Martin, the Platoon Sergeant, eying the new Lieutenants closely. She didn't blame his skepticism; many changes and replacements had come to Easy since Normandy. She herself looked at them too. Her gaze met Peacock's. He offered a small nod.

As Dick went on to give orders for the day's preparations, she watched the men. Despite seeing them eagerly playing poker not ten minutes before, seemingly unstressed, a total seriousness had descended on the room. They listened closely to Dick. As he finished up the small briefing and dismissed them into their smaller platoon briefings, he pulled Hudson and Peacock to the side, over to Alice.

"First Lieutenant Alice Klein, Second Lieutenants Charles Hudson and Thomas Peacock." He gestured between them. "I'm sure you two know about her. She's one of our links with intelligence, and our liaison with the local European underground groups."

"Pleasure," Alice said to them. Peacock saluted, surprising her, but she returned the gesture immediately. Hudson followed a bit more slowly.

Dick nodded. "Right." He dismissed the two Second Lieutenants to their platoon. Turning back to Alice, he sighed. Harry walked over to them and he turned to her. "Stay with Second Platoon from now on."

"Since Harry abandoned me," she said flatly. But when the man in question just snickered, she smiled as well. "Sure you don't want me to whip these two new replacements into shape?"

Harry laughed, but Dick just smiled and shook his head. "It's not Peacock who worries me. Hudson may be a little less inclined to work with you. We'll let Lipton acclimate them."

"Sounds fine to me," Alice agreed. "Second Platoon it is."

"I don't know, Dick. Putting Bill Guarnere and Alice together? In the same Platoon?" Harry just shook his head, arms across his chest. He gestured to Second Platoon at the back of the farmhouse base. "Quite a risky move."

"Not sure anything could be worse than her and Luz," Dick said, smiling.

Harry scoffed. "Now that I agree with."

"Hey. Maybe putting me in Second is what you need to keep those crazies in line."

They both started chuckling again. Dick left them with a smile to go check in with First Platoon and the new Lieutenants. As he wandered away, Harry took out his canteen and downed a large drink.

"Congratulations on the promotion," she told him. "Seems to be a lot of that going around."

Harry agreed, thanking her. As they stood quietly again, watching and listening to all the voices around them, he just took another drink. Then he turned to her. "Ready to jump?"

"It wouldn't matter if I wasn't."

"True." Another drink, and he stood quiet. He turned back to her with a frown. "Did you ever open the rest of those letters?"

"No."

"Are you going to?"

Alice told him she didn't know. Part of her wanted to burn them. Why read them. Likely they'd ended months ago, and now had nothing she could act on. But some small part of her wanted to know. She needed to know if she could help. 


	58. Chapter Fifty Eight

**September 17, 1944**   
_Eindhoven, North Brabant, The Netherlands_

* * *

Her body hit the ground with a roll. Behind her, her silk chute crashed to the ground, waving in the wind caught like a tarp. Green shoots of grass tickled her cheek as she rolled from her back. It took a moment of wrestling with the parachute before she had time to focus on her surroundings.

Hundreds of paratroopers descended green against the clouded skies of white. For a brief moment, Alice allowed herself to watch in awe. But reality sank in. Tearing her attention from the parachute-filled sky, Alice checked her gun before following the other members of Easy, Dog, and Fox out of the wide open field and into the nearby Sonsche forest. It didn’t take long for her to locate Second Platoon. She joined Buck at the front.

“That went surprisingly well,” she muttered.

Buck looked back at her as he joined him. With a smile, he just glanced around and over her, taking stock of who had joined the platoon and who still was missing. Then he nodded to her. “Better than Normandy, that’s for sure. You seen Bill?”

Alice shook her head. “No, but I wasn’t looking.”

He shrugged. Their platoon sergeant would show up eventually. Turning back from him, Alice tried to see if she could spot Bill Guarnere. As she chewed at her lip and tried to count the men behind her, she finally breathed a sigh of relief as the man in question came up from the back of the group. He stopped beside them with a grunt.

“You’re late, Sergeant,” Buck said, amused. 

Bill rolled his eyes. “Just checkin’ in on somethin’. I’m here now.”

“Come on, we need to reach Son as quickly as possible,” Alice said. 

The faster Easy, Dog, and Fox could reach the city of Son, the less likely they’d run into serious resistance. They had a limited amount of time. Step one of Operation Market Garden for them would be to secure the bridge at Son.

Unfortunately, Step One failed.

After watching the Germans successfully bomb the bridge at Son, Major Strayer had gathered all the officers of 2nd Battalion. A radio op had already called for the engineers, but they didn’t have time to wait. Alice stood between Buck and Shames at the small meeting.

“We need to get to Eindhoven,” Strayer said. “The faster we move south, the better chance we have at arriving quietly.”

Ron Speirs nodded from where he stood with Dog’s officers. “Then we should get moving.”

“Captain Winters, take Easy on ahead. Dog, Fox, follow after.” Strayer looked around. “Keep Noise Discipline from here on out. Understood?” They all nodded, so he dismissed them. “Let’s get moving.”

The trek to Eindhoven passed without any sort of incident. They stayed quiet, taking covered routes whenever possible. The cloud cover still hadn’t lifted. As the day wore on, she began to worry about air support, or, the lack thereof due to weather. So far since the jump, the supposedly easy mission had been nothing but trouble.

They’d been hunkered down in a long ditch just north of Eindhoven for nearly twenty minutes. Alice felt her anxiety getting worse and worse with each passing minute. The sky, still covered in white clouds, looked almost like a blank canvas. In any other circumstance, Alice might have been impressed, even inspired by the sight. But now it mocked her.

Movement and noise to her left jerked her out of her thoughts. Buck picked his way over to her, hunched for cover. She waited for him.

“We’re moving in across the field,” he told her, and Bill Guarnere to her left. “Let’s go.”

Guarnere turned to the other men, gesturing to Joe Toye and Don Malarkey to get their squads in order. Alice just took a deep breath through her nose. Standing crouched over, she looked across the field. A brown brick church steeple could be seen. Other building roofs and walls could barely be glimpsed through the trees. Eindhoven.

Guns ready, Second Platoon moved as one. They rushed across the open field. Ragged breathing and pounding boots filled the air. As they crossed the yards, she just prayed they could reach cover without losing anyone.

To her surprise, not a single shot rang out. Soon they had hunkered down behind the city limits. Alice couldn’t see inside. Anticipation had her shaking where she crouched. What would they find inside? All she wanted to do was get in there.

“Lieutenant Klein!”

At the whisper-shout, Alice turned down the line. Everyone around her followed suit. Lieutenant Peacock shuffled down towards them, head low. He stopped where she sat with Buck and Bill Guarnere. 

“Lieutenant, Captain Winters and Lieutenant Welsh want you at First Platoon.”

Alice looked at him in surprise, and then glanced at the other two. They all shrugged to each other, but Alice didn’t protest. She grabbed her rifle closer. Following Peacock down the line towards the city entrance where First Platoon had set up, she stayed as low as possible. When they reached First Platoon, she found Harry and Dick with Johnny Martin and Lieutenant Hudson. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Dick gestured into the city. “You’re the one most familiar with the Resistance groups. We want you with us when we go in.”

“We’re going in now, then?”

He nodded and turned to the others. Giving them their orders, Alice tried to take deep breaths to calm her nerves. As she looked into the city she saw a large orange blanket fluttering in the wind of an open window. Without even thinking, she smiled. 

“Good sign, then?” Harry asked her, crouching down. He looked into the city as well. 

She nodded. “Should be.”

“Could also be a trap,” Harry reminded her.

Alice knew as much. Waiting for First Platoon to form up, she took the time to run over a few dutch phrases in her mind. But soon enough they were ready to go. Staying next to Harry, Alice watched Bull Randleman, Johnny Martin, and the rest of First move forward. She followed. It didn’t take long before they heard shouting and guns were raised. Alice moved to see what was happening but Harry grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back behind cover.

“Nicht schießen! Nicht schießen!”

Alice turned back and glared at Harry before moving away. It didn’t even take more than a second or two before Johnny Martin moved next to her, gun trained on the city entrance. She peeked around the closest city wall. As soon as she moved past it, she’d be in easy sniping range. She glanced back at Johnny. He nodded.

Alice raised her weapon and moved so she could look into the town better. She saw three men standing in worn, unkempt suits. One had a German gun in his hands. The other two had orange cloths tucked into their pockets, but no weapons visible. 

“Bist du niederländisch?” Alice shouted at them. “Oder bist du ein Nazi?”

“Nein! Nein, wir sind keine Nazis. Wir kämpfen für die Niederlande!” 

Alice took a deep breath. She looked at Johnny again. He watched her closely. Her heart pounded in her chest. There was only one thing to do. She had to move into view, into the town. Both she and Johnny knew there was a chance they’d set a trap. As soon as she moved out of cover, she could be killed. With another deep breath, Alice nodded. He nodded back.

Pushing herself to her feet. She leaned against the wall. Counting to her three, Alice moved into view. She kept her gun up. “Leg deine Waffen nieder. Das sind Amerikaner. Wir sind hier um zu helfen.”

“Americans?” The one in the front, without a weapon, smiled. He moved forward. “We hoped you were Americans.” He turned back to the man to his left with a german rifle and told him to put it down. Then he moved forward, hands up. 

Alice didn’t drop her gun yet. It took a few moments for her nerves to calm. But finally she lowered it, dropping the muzzle away from them. “They’re Americans. I’m from the French Resistance. Alice Klein.”

All three of them grinned. The one who had been speaking for the group nodded. “Ah, bienvenue à Eindhoven, Alice Klein. You’re just in time to celebrate the Germans leaving!” He turned away from her. Speaking dutch to his friends, they sped away.

Moments later, a window pushed open slowly. Alice looked up and went to raise her rifle. But the face of ayoung girl, blonde hair in pigtails, peeked out from behind the shutters. She called down. “Papa, zijn het Amerikanen?”

The man grinned. He pointed up to her. “Ja! Ze zijn er om te helpen.” 

Alice turned back to the paratroopers behind her. Johnny had already moved into view, and when she turned around and nodded back, he went to signal the others. Moments later, First Platoon moved into the town, guns still ready but pointed at the ground. Harry moved in next to Lieutenants Peacock and Hudson, and it didn’t take long for Dick to join her.

“He said the Germans left the city,” she told him. Shifting where she stood, Alice looked around. “I hope he was telling the truth.”

Dick nodded. “Let’s all hope.”

Within just a handful of minutes, the streets became jam packed with the citizens of Eindhoven. Flags were handed out, songs chanted. It didn’t take long for her to get separated from Dick and Harry. Jostled by the crowd, Alice tried to keep away from the women. They didn’t seem to notice that she wasn’t a well-toned American man. 

Streamers began to fall around her. Alice found herself in a side street, trying to push against the flow. Time ticked. They needed to get through Eindhoven. They had four more bridges to secure. As a woman grabbed her and landed a kiss on her cheek, Alice groaned. The crowd pushed her back further.

As she stood against a wall of a house in a side street, Alice shook her head. At least out of the street and against the wall she had less people crowding her. Taking a moment to breath, Alice folded her collar down to hide her stripes and tried to relax a moment. The door to her right, near the end of the street, opened.

Alice turned quickly. She pulled out her pistol. But the people who came out didn’t look like a threat. A woman, skin sallow, blinking against the light, hugged two young boys to her body. She shied away whenever anyone came within a few feet of her. 

“Are you alright?” Alice asked, moving closer. 

“The Germans?”

“Gone.”

The woman immediately started to weep. Falling to her knees, she seemed to alternate between laughing and sobbing. She pulled her boys into a hug. Once she let them have a moment, Alice knelt down next to her. A lump formed in her throat.

“Have you been hiding?” 

“Yes. The Nazis were rounding up Jews. We hid.” She wiped away her tears. But she didn’t stop smiling even through her sobs. “They took my husband. We’ve been trying to get to Amsterdam, and then across to England or Sweden. But we’ve been stuck here for six months.”

A million questions crossed her mind. Alice wanted to know so much. When had the Nazis begun their round ups, which cities had been first, where did they send the Jews? But before she could ask any of it, she heard someone call her name.

“Alice, let’s go!” Nixon pushed his way through the crowd towards her. “Come on.”

She hesitated. It took her several seconds before turning away from the woman and her sons. But eventually she did. Alice joined Nixon pushing through the crowd. Before long, they found Dick, Harry, and Buck. But shouts pulled her away.

Alice shoved her way past men and women from Eindhoven. She could hear crying, distinctly female. Finally she came to the source. Two women knelt, half dressed, on the cold stone ground in a courtyard of the city. The entire populace had surrounded them, spitting and jeering. The two kneeling had been almost completely shaved of hair, with blood dripping down their necks, the wounds likely caused by roughly handled scissors. The sobbed. As one was thrown to the ground, another woman took her place.

Collaborator, whore, bitch. The words flung around in Dutch quite easily told the tale. They’d slept with the Germans, probably the high ranking Nazi officers. Anger filled her body. Alice shook. No one could understand why a woman would bring herself to sleep with the enemy, but Alice knew from experience that sometimes you had to do bad things to survive. The women being all but tortured in Eindhoven were young, her age. They probably hadn’t had much of a choice. Any choice they’d been given would’ve ended in death or worse if they chose wrong.

And sometimes sleeping with the Nazis was a weapon in and of itself. 

Alice felt chills fall all over her body. She shook her head. Nothing she could say or do would change the situation before her, but to turn her back on them, to look away, felt equally as wrong. And beyond that, the more she looked at the barely dressed women, bleeding and broken on the ground, the more she felt afraid. That could’ve easily been her. That would’ve been her.

Suddenly she felt someone grab her arm gently. She looked over. Bill looked at her carefully before gesturing away, and soon enough Lipton had flanked her other side. So she turned away, leaving behind the women to suffer their fate, however deserved or undeserved. 

They’d failed step one: capture the Son bridge. But they’d completed step two: liberate Eindhoven. Now they had four more bridges to secure.


	59. Chapter Fifty Nine

It didn't take long for them to set off towards the other bridges. Alice remained in Eindhoven, meeting with members of the Resistance and trying to gather what intelligence information she could from them. By nightfall, Easy returned and took up lodgings around the outskirts of town. Absolutely exhausted from a day of paper pushing and interviews, Alice walked in the dark from the house she'd done her work in to wherever Easy had set up for the night.

She stood outside the city. The sky still hadn't cleared, so instead of stars and the full moon that they should've seen, only a blanket of black was visible. Behind her she could still hear the parties being thrown by the liberated Dutch. Alice closed her eyes. Letting her head fall back a bit, she tried to relax.

A lot had come to light that day, more than she'd expected. The Resistance happily shared their information with her. They had German troop movements, code names of contacts in other cities, records of eliminated targets both human and structural. It hadn't taken long to find out that their primary method of resistance had been smuggling and hiding their Jewish brothers and sisters.

Many of the people she interviewed for information had done just that. They all knew about the Jewish work camps; men and women and children taken away to build things for the Nazi cause. None of them knew where the camps were, though, or how many and when they'd been built. A loosely organized underground network had been built to smuggle the Jews of Holland to Amsterdam and other port cities, and from there, out of German occupied Europe.

One estimate she heard placed the number of Jews who had gone missing near a hundred thousand, but the total number could've been far greater since the start of the war. As Alice stood outside the city, darkness around her, she tried to breathe. Ignore the parties, ignore the brash Americans, ignore the rowdy liberated Dutch.

For a while she just stood there. Alice didn't move, didn't talk. She just breathed. But soon enough, Johnny Martin's voice from her left distracted her.

"Second Platoon's been looking for you," he said. Moving to stand next to her, he glanced at her face. When she didn't respond he just shrugged. "So's George. Non-stop."

Alice cracked a small smile. "Yeah, I bet." But Alice didn't move to follow him. She stood looking off into the darkness of Holland. "Good work, securing the bridges."

"Find out anything useful while you were stuck here?"

"Some."

Johnny nodded. "Well, some of us grabbed a cleaned out barn along the other side of town. I don't beg, but if I did, I would beg you to come so Bill, George, and the rest of Second would shut up about where you are."

She scoffed, and then shook her head. "Fine, fine. I get the picture."

Alice followed Johnny around the edge of town. They walked in silence. When the farmhouse came into view, she paused for a moment. Such a picturesque little barn… When they reached it, George, Skip, and Penkala sat outside smoking. At their approach, all three of them shouted.

"You found her!" George grinned. Standing up, he waited for them, hands on his hips.

Johnny just shook his head. "It was the only fucking way to get sleep around here."

Pushing past them, he went inside. Alice stood with her arms crossed. George, Skip, and Penkala started telling her all about their missions since she'd left them that mid morning. At first she listened, but soon Alice tuned it out.

They went inside. As she nodded along absentmindedly, she took up a vacant spot along the wall and plopped down. To the far side she saw a lot of Third and First lounging about, some playing cards, other digging into food that looked decidedly nonmilitary. Second Platoon lay or sat scattered around as well. She saw Joe and Bill chatting with Lipton in the back far corner. Skinny, Alley, and Liebgott had started a card game. Soon enough, Alice tried to tune everything else out as well.

As the three men kept going, she sighed. Finally she turned to George in particular. "I'm going to bed."

Skip and Alex looked barely phased, wishing her goodnight and moving off to a different part of the barn. Malarkey, Grant, and Talbert sat around in another corner so they joined them. But George stopped talking and watched her. It took a moment for her to notice.

"You good?" he asked. A cigarette dangled from his lips as he asked. George shifted himself next to her against the wall. "Cause you been acting weird the last week or so."

She couldn't even get angry at the prodding. She'd been angry enough at Nixon. Now she just wanted it all to disappear, to go back to the blissful moments before she'd gotten the letters from Elsa or found out about the stupid Jewish work camps. Fighting in Normandy had been fighting for her home, fresh in her mind. Fighting in the Netherlands just felt exhausting.

"Now I know you ain't good," George said. "You didn't even yell at me for asking."

"I'm just tired," she said. But the excuse sounded hollow even to her own ears. With a sigh, she let her head rest against the wood slat wall of the barn. Alice closed her eyes. "How'd you do today?"

George shook his head. "We did fine. Dog and Fox helped us secure the targets. But don't change the subject."

"I got some bad news last week related to family I had in Arnhem. That combined with all the shit that happened today, I'm just exhausted." Alice sighed. Her eyes closed. She felt tears springing to the surface. The memories of the Resistance groups' information, the faces of the screaming tortured women, the letters of Elsa all felt like too much. "I'm not very good company right now, I suppose."

George snorted in amusement. "You're better company than those two jokers," he argued. "I'd rather have someone next to me who looks pretty even dirty in fatigues than those ugly mugs."

Alice couldn't stop her smile. She shook her head and opened her eyes again. "Should've led with that pick up line two years ago, George."

It was his turn to laugh. "Eh I don't think it would've worked."

"Probably not." She tried to relax more. Using George as physical support as much as moral, she leaned against him. George offered her a cigarette, but she declined. "I think I'd fall asleep with it in my mouth. You just keep smoking and I'll breath yours in."

"Sounds good to me."

Closing her eyes, she did just that. Before long she started using George's shoulder as a bit of a pillow, the nicotine from his cigarette giving her some relief. The noise began to die down around them. By 0100, lights were turned off. Alice drifted off even before then.

By 0700 the next morning, the three platoons had gathered with the British armored division. Alice road near the first tank next to Johnny and his squad. Despite being assigned to Second Platoon, old habits died hard, and she soon found herself in First's company.

The tanks rolled on, their tracks making all sorts of noise on the gravel road in addition to the loud gears. Few people even tried to speak. It took an hour to get past Nuenen. After that, the next town would be Helmond, their target.

Murmurs and gestures down the road from the tanks drew Alice's attention. When she caught sight of what had the men's attention, her heart broke. A woman holding a young baby, head shaved and skin bruised, watched them pass. It only took her a few seconds before she had slid past Johnny and Hoobler off the tank and to the ground.

Alice immediately jogged down the road. When she reached the woman, they looked at each other for a moment. Her eyes were red from crying, her fingernails bloody. The infant at her chest was young, maybe a year old. He had dark hair to match what was left of his mother's own.

She grabbed the woman in a hug. Her forehead touched the woman's own, and at the contact, the woman broke down again. Her sobs wrecked through her body where she stood half dressed along the road. Alice told her it would be okay, trying to speak in Dutch as best she could. Alice knew the men would be watching. She used her body to block the woman's own.

Alice stayed there as the tanks passed. If it meant walking along the back, then she would walk around the back to preserve what little dignity the young mother had left. The woman never responded to Alice's murmured words of comfort but before long both she and her young child stopped crying. But Alice didn't.

"Thank you." The woman murmured the words quietly, through sobs. She raised her gaze to meet Alice's. "They will want you to follow."

"I know." Alice wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She placed it on the young boy's head. "Don't let them break you. We all do bad things to survive. The men here will never understand what that means for us."

The woman's face scrunched up again as she tried not to cry. She looked down at the boy in her arms. Then she nodded. "Go. Free us."

Alice nodded. She backed away from the woman, watching her carefully. When the woman offered her a small smile, Alice turned away. It didn't surprise her to find the jeep that Dick, Harry, and Nixon had taken had stopped while the tanks kept going. Alice walked up to them. She didn't speak as she hoisted herself into the back with Harry. It didn't escape her that all three of them looked her way. But she refused to respond, and soon enough the jeep moved on to follow the tank caravan.

Another hour passed in silence. Alice ignored the blatantly obvious concern from the men in her jeep. If and when she decided to talk to them, it would be on her terms. A deep isolation had welled up in her. No matter how much the men would say they could understand what it would be like to be a woman in occupied territory, they didn't. They couldn't. And some part of her knew she'd been one decision away from being in the same boat as the nameless woman on the side of the road.

Nameless. Alice almost looked back. She hadn't gotten her name. Instead the woman and her child would be yet another statistic. A nameless statistic.


	60. Chapter Sixty

Explosions and gunshots had already started going off by the time the Jeep caught up with the tanks. As she scrambled from the jeep with the other three, mind racing, focused only on the threat before her, she heard calls for a medic. It surprised her not to see Gene rushing around. Dick, Harry, and Nixon started getting troops in order.

Spina and Mampre came into view. One helped a limping soldier, the other dragged a body. Alice rushed to them, past the tanks. Her sniper rifle was no use at the moment. Before long she reached the two medics, but realized it was actually three. Gene Roe limped with Spina’s help.

“Give him to me!” Alice ordered, grabbing the taller Eugene Roe. He didn’t protest, and neither did Spina, so soon enough she had the head medic at her side. “Damnit Gene.”

The sounds of shouting and bullets filled the air. Alice couldn’t look back. She, Gene, Mampre, and Spina limped to the protection of one of the jeeps. All around them, chaos. Down the gravel road they went. Alice’s breathing became erratic as she just prayed no one would shoot them from behind.

At last they reached a safe distance back. Mampre and Spina dropped beside the man they’d been dragging. Lowering Gene to the ground, she looked at him closely. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. As she realized she’d be getting no help from the other two medics, Alice nodded.

“Give me your bag,” she ordered.

Gene looked at her. “You ain’t a medic.”

“No shit. Give me your bag, Gene. Walk me through this.”

He didn’t protest any further. Easing his medical bag off his shoulders, he handed it to her. The first thing she took out were scissors. It didn’t take instructions for her to know she needed to get the wound visible.

With the medic scissors, she cut the pant leg on Gene’s left. As they both peered down at the wound, Alice and Gene sighed in relief. It looked minor. Bad enough to bleed, but just a bullet wound.

“Didn’t hit the artery,” he assured her. “You need sulfa for the wound. And you need to get the bullet out.”

“Right.”

But Alice hesitated. She looked at Gene again, could see the pain in his eyes. “Do you want morphine?”

Eugene huffed, then gritted his teeth again. “No. I need ‘a be able to walk you through this just in case.”

“Right.” Alice made the mistake of glancing to her right. Mampre and Spina worked fast, trying to stop the bleeding from the soldier’s neck. Blood spurted everywhere as they had to keep replacing bandages. A bit of it sprayed across Spina’s face. Her stomach churned. 

“Alice. Focus.”

With a nod, she took the sulfa packet Gene gestured to. She ripped it open. As soon as the white powder began to fall on the open wound, Gene groaned. She watched his jaw set in defiance, silencing the discomfort. With the sulfa applied, she took out some tweezers.

“No morphine?”

“Bon sang! Simplement fais-le!”

Alice huffed but nodded. Putting a bit of sulfa on the tweezers for good measure, Alice moved to take the bullet out. A massive explosion behind them jolted her. She ducked. As the sound faded, she looked at Gene again. He nodded.

The tweezers pushed between Gene’s skin. Alice saw him throw his head back in pain, but moments later he got control of himself. She started to apologize. “Je suis désolé! Je suis vraiment désolé!” As her french murmuring continued, Alice finally found the bullet and pulled it out. 

The wound began to bleed more. Her training for how to tie a bandage kicked in, and she worked on memory. Gene watched her, whole body tense. Alice hated seeing him in pain. As she did the tie, the world seemed to slow. Her anxiety had shot through the roof. She couldn’t let her fear control her though. When the bandage had been tied, she looked up at Gene.

He nodded. She nodded back. Another explosion rocked the area. Gene and Alice both looked towards the city of Helmond. Dozens of Allied soldiers ran towards them. Her heart stopped. Were they retreating? To her left, Mampre and another soldier moved the injured man off on a stretcher towards a jeep. Spina sunk down beside her and Gene.

“Holy shit,” he muttered. Then he looked at Gene. “You good?” 

Gene nodded for a moment. They all turned back towards the road where the soldiers ran back towards them. “Yeah. Yeah.” Then he looked at Spina. “The Lieutenant?”

Spina shook his head. “I don’t know. We stabilized him, I think.” Then he turned to Alice. “Thanks for the help.”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything. Her gaze was trained on the fleeing company. Trucks had pulled up for them, two full already. She couldn’t locate the officers, though. “Spina, get Gene somewhere safe. I’ve got to find the officers.”

“Right.”

Alice nodded at him and then Gene before pushing herself off the ground. Blood stained her hands as she held her gun ready. Shames and Peacock passed her, shouting orders to their Platoons. When she saw Buck, she flagged him down.

“We’re retreating,” he told her. “Couldn’t get through.”

“Dick?”

Buck gestured down the road. With a quick thank you, Alice moved in the direction he pointed. She dodged the men rushing her way. Weaving through the masses, she found Dick and Nixon at a truck, the former shouting orders to the retreating soldiers. Even as she reached them, though, her heart stopped. A clang, and then Nixon landed on the ground. Alice and Dick both knelt down beside him.

“Nix!” Dick grabbed him. 

To both their relief, he moved, glancing around in terror and surprise. Alice watched as he assured them he was alright, frozen to the ground. Her heart absolutely stopped. But as soon as she realized Nixon hadn’t died, she grabbed her face.

“Fucking hell. First Gene, then you. Is everyone going to get shot!” Alice looked at him closer. He had a cut across his forehead. Then she grabbed his helmet. It had a hole in it, a bullet embedded in the metal. “Shit.”

Nixon took a deep breath and nodded. “Right.”

With a nod and another look between both of them, Dick hoisted Nixon up. “Come on. We need to get out of here.”

“Casualties?” Alice asked.

Dick shook his head. “Unknown.”

While Nixon dabbed at his head wound, the three officers hurried back to the trucks. The last one was getting ready to pull away. While Johnny Martin pulled Dick aside, Alice jumped into the back of their jeep with Harry. His stressed expression reflected her own opinions. Neither spoke.

The trucks moved off rapidly. Machine gun fire echoed from Helmond. Alice ducked a bit. Nixon and Dick barreled into the jeep and away they sped. She looked behind them, back towards Helmond. Smoke rose from the buildings, the dark grey smoke mingling with the white clouds above. 

The Battalion regrouped outside Nuenen. The officers spent hours counting casualties, gathering intelligence. As the sun sank in the sky, Alice soon found herself alone again, sitting against a tree trunk on the edge of town. A brilliant sunset painted in the sky. She had so much to process.

First and foremost, Bull Randleman was missing. Dead maybe. No matter how much Guarnere insisted that with no proof, there was no way to declare him Killed In Action, she didn’t quite believe it. Alice had shed several tears once she’d managed to get away from the men. 

As the reds and oranges became blues, and then purples, and then a deep black, Alice stayed where she was. A peacefulness settled on the world. She tried to focus. It worked until the distinct noise of explosions echoed around her.

She scrambled up. More and more explosions followed. Suddenly the raging flames and smoke began to light the darkness. Alice paused. They weren’t bombing the Allies.

The Germans were bombing Eindhoven. They were bombing civilians. In her anger, Alice focused on one thing only. She had to get back there. Grabbing her gun off the ground, she dashed up a nearby hill. By now, the fires raging in the nearby town cast silhouettes of the buildings. Smoke filled the air. She stood entranced.

A dozen men joined her on the hill. Only the booming heavy artillery filled the air. Smoke wafted their way. Alice took a step back.

“Where you going?” Johnny Martin turned to her.

She didn’t look at him. Instead she turned back to the flaming city. “They need help. I’m going back.”

“Not by ya’self you're not.” Bill Guarnere stepped up to her. He nodded. “Johnny?”

“Let’s go.” 

Alice nodded. She looked between them in the dark and then turned. Hurrying down the hill, she went to find Dick. It didn’t surprise her to find Nixon and Dick standing on a different hill overlooking Eindhoven. Dick turned to her and frowned.

“I’m going to go help,” she said.

Nixon went to protest but Dick stopped him. He took a long look at Alice and then turned to the two sergeants with her. “I need you three back by dawn. Take Spina and a few other men.” As they nodded and turned away, he called to her. “Alice!”

“What?”

“Be smart.”

She nodded. As they hurried down the hill, leaving Nixon behind to argue with Dick’s decision, she turned to Johnny and Bill. “Find some volunteers and get me Spina. I’m going to track down a jeep.”

Both of them nodded and hurried off. The jeeps were parked on the right side of the far entrance to Nuenen. It took some effort to shoulder through the citizens of the city who stood watching in horrified awe, the bombs raining down on the city beyond them. She heard children crying, men and women screaming in fear.

Securing two jeeps didn’t take long. As the screaming artillery began to subside, the small squad of volunteers assembled. Joe Toye, Babe Heffron, Skinny Sisk, Ralph Spina, Smokey Gordon, Bill Guarnere, and Johnny Martin stood with her. After a moment, she nodded. “Right. Guarnere, Heffron, Spina, with me. The rest of you take the second one.”

“Anyone heard anything about Bull?” Smokey asked.

Guarnere scoffed, pulling himself into the seat beside Alice. “His squad went after him.”

Alice looked over in surprise. But she didn’t have time to respond as she readied herself in the driver’s seat. As soon as all her men were in, she started off. Nearly fifteen minutes later, they reached Eindhoven’s edge.

Or, what remained at the edge. The walls and half the buildings smoked in ruined heaps. Fires roared around them. Shrieking and crying came from all around. As Alice got out of the jeep, she paused. There were a few other jeeps from the battalion nearby. 

She told them to help whoever they could. Spina had gotten extra medical supplies, whatever he could spare and scrounge for. Distributing it to the various men, he then waited next to Alice. She stood, looking inside. 

After a few moments, she hurried inside, putting her gun away. Guarnere didn't leave her, and Babe stuck with him. They moved through the city. The sobs and groans from around the city drowned out any conversation. For half an hour they spent time pulling the Eindhoven citizens from crumbled buildings. The sight of a baby crushed beneath the crumbled walls of its home made her pause, especially seeing the arm of perhaps it’s mother poking out from under a huge pile of bricks. She stepped away.

Moving down the next alley, she covered her mouth from the smoke of a nearby fire. But she heard someone ahead. They sounded young and frightened. Alice called out in German, forgetting her Dutch in her panic. The flames began to come closer. She couldn’t locate either Bill or Babe. Alice pressed on. She could see shapes through the haze. One hunched over another. Alice called out to them again in German. A man screamed back in Dutch.

She stumbled, her ankle twisting on the rubble. At the same time, she heard a crack and felt her arm get punched. Except it hadn’t been. The numbness turned to a burning heat radiating through her left arm. Alice gasped, stumbling to the side. A warm liquid pooled against her skin. The world spun for a moment as she fell into a wall.

Alice pushed herself away as she gained more self control. The flames started encroaching on her area. Smoke filled the air. Alice clambered over the rubble and out of the alleyway into the main area. The shouts and cries around her faded as her focus shifted to the pain in her left arm. It radiated all the way from her fingertips to her neck.

“Alice?” She heard Bill run over as she fell to the ground, heaving coughs. With every cough, her body jolted, sending searing pain through her left side. “Come on, get outta the smoke.”

“Left arm,” she said. When he moved apart and looked at her in confusion, she shook her head. “Bullet wound, left arm.”

His eyes widened. Immediately he looked around. “Babe! Find Spina! Send him out to the jeep, now!” Shifting her with her right arm onto his shoulder, he pulled her forward. “Fucking christ, sweetheart. How the fuck did you get shot by our Allies?”

She didn’t respond. Alice’s mind was all over the place, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. But the pain clouded her mind. Before too long, Bill had dragged her out of Eindhoven. He set her down against the nearest fence.

“Help me get my coat off,” she muttered.

Once she’d gotten her right arm out, Bill eased the left side off. Both of them looked at her arm. Bill took out his lighter and tried to get some light on it. Deep red blood trailed down her arm. It pooled in a hole the size of a dime about two inches below her shoulder towards the left edge of her arm.

“Why did they shoot you?” Bill looked at her again.

Alice sighed, resting her head back against the wood of the fence. Tears threatened to fall from the pain. She took a deep breath. “I started speaking German. That’s probably why.”

Bill scoffed and shook his head. “That was stupid.”

When Spina and Babe arrived a few minutes later, Guarnere had tried to compress the wound with bandages as best he could. Spina quickly pushed him away. By the time he’d finished with the wound and given her morphine, Alice started to drift off. The last thing she remembered were Johnny and Bill standing nearby, chatting quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See one-shot "They Understood, but Did Not Comprehend" for more


	61. Chapter Sixty One

When she woke up, a tent hung over her head. Alice scrunched her eyes shut against the lights. A groan escaped her before she had time to react again. As her mind stopped being fuzzy, pain in her left arm began to return and Alice remembered getting shot. She opened her eyes again.

Alice blinked a few times. She could hear voices around her. After a few minutes of listening to the murmur, she heard a voice close by that she recognized. Alice turned left. “Gene?”

The man in question sat on a cot not far away, chatting with a nurse. He and the woman both turned her way. The woman smiled and moved from the medic’s side.

“Welcome to the field hospital,” she said. The woman had light brown hair tied back under her nursing hat and a kind smile. “Your friend here was telling me about you, Lieutenant.”

Alice glanced past her at Gene. She shook her head. “He is quite the gossip when I get injured.”

The woman laughed. “I’m Sarah. You’re at the Field Hospital that the 506th uses. You and your medic got here a day ago.” As Alice started to sit up, Sarah helped her. “Your arm’s doing well. The wound was minor, especially compared to a lot of the wounds we see here.”

“When can I go back to the front?” 

Sarah frowned. “Give it at least two weeks, my dear. And that’s being generous. We did triage, repaired the damage as best we could. But gunshot wounds take time.”

Alice scoffed. “Trust me, I know.”

With a smile, Sarah nodded. “We noticed the scarring under your left shoulder. It looks to be at least three years old.”

“It is.”

When Alice didn’t say anything else, Sarah just flashed her a sad smile. She turned away. Once the nurse had left the tent, Alice turned to Gene. The other four beds lay empty. Noise from outside made its way in, however, so there wasn’t much peace in the hospital tent.

“How’s your leg?” Alice asked.

He shrugged. “Two weeks, like you.” After a few moments, he continued on. He glanced at her bandages. “How’d you get shot? No one’s told me.”

Alice sighed. She looked down at the state of herself. She had no shirt, just white bandages that had been wrapped around her breasts and upper chest for modesty. The bandages over her left arm were tight, pristinely white against her reddened skin. Her pants still had soot and blood caked all over them, but someone had removed her boots.

“Alice?”

She glanced up at him. “Hm?”

“How’d you get shot?”

“Oh.” Alice shrugged. Pain shot through her and she hissed. “The Germans bombed Eindhoven. I took a group back to help. I got shot in the confusion.” Trailing off, Alice bit her lip. It shouldn’t have surprised her that they’d shot at her when she’d spoken German, especially in the confusion of the attack. But somehow it still hurt. “They mistook me for a Nazi.”

Gene hummed. He looked at her closely, not saying anything more. Before long Gene laid back down. Alice stayed sitting up, unsure of what to do other than sit and think. She didn’t like thinking these days, though. Flashes of memory of the broken, burning bodies of Eindhoven played before her like a movie at the cinema. Their screams echoed in her ears. Alice couldn’t shake it. 

Voices outside jerked her back to reality. Some time had passed, but Alice didn’t know how much. The light seemed lower. Gene still slept to her left. Before long, the voices came closer and she recognized one of them. Lewis Nixon came inside moments later with a nurse. When the woman saw Alice awake she left them to check on her other patients.

“I knew you’d get yourself shot,” Nixon said.

“Keep your voice down. Gene’s asleep,” she muttered. Running her right hand through her hair, she sighed. For a moment, the fact that she didn’t have a real shirt on bothered her. Without anything to do about it, though, Alice just turned back to him. “How furious is Dick?”

“He’s not. Guarnere’s pretty pissed though.” He moved further into the room. To his credit, Nixon did lower his voice. Taking up the spot to her other side, he leaned against the cot and shook his head. “How’s it feel?”

“Painful.” The tiny smirk he flashed her put her more at ease. Alice released the tension in her shoulders as best she could. “How’s the fight going?”

“Bull’s back.”

“You serious?”

“Yep.”

Alice could have cried, but she forced herself not to. Even so, a deep breath she’d been holding was released immediately. Suddenly a lot of the stress evaporated. “Thank God.” Alice rubbed her face with her hand. “Thank God.”

“I had a bet going with Harry that you’d cry over the information. So if you could cry…” Nixon had to quiet his own laugh as she positively glared his way. He shook his head. “I’m kidding.”

“You better be.”

“Oh yes. You’re very scary. Terrifying, really.”

Alice scoffed. Silence fell between them again. She looked around, glancing at Gene first. He still slept. It only took a few moments before she turned back to Nixon. He stood watching her, arms crossed.

“So, Market Garden’s not going too well,” she muttered. 

Nixon sighed. All amusement fell away. “No, it’s not.” 

He listed the losses and gains for the various divisions, and not much went well. As he listed the estimated casualty figures, Alice sat in silence. The 506th had done better than most, even with failing at Helmond. 

“How many died in Eindhoven?”

Nixon took a deep breath. He watched her carefully. “Over 200.”

Her eyes closed in pain. Her chest felt like she’d been punched. The wind was knocked out of her. Two hundred people, killed because the Americans had failed to liberate them. When she opened her eyes, she saw Nixon drinking from his flask. “You have cigarettes?”

Nixon nodded. “Yeah. Here.” He dug through his pockets and pulled a pack out. After she took one, he offered her a light. 

They stood in silence for a while. Alice puffed at her cigarette, Nixon drank his Vat 69. Behind them, Gene slept soundly. The pain in her arm started to increase as the painkillers wore off. But she didn’t want to go to bed. She didn’t want Nixon to leave.

“You should go to sleep,” he said. 

Alice would’ve laughed at his comment, called him a mind reader, if she hadn’t been scared of that very prospect. “No! No, I’m fine.” Panic started to rise as she thought about being stuck at the hospital. She didn’t know these people. She didn’t trust them. She’d already been shot once for being German. 

Nixon stopped mid-drink. He watched her carefully. “Are you scared?”

“No!” Alice snapped. As soon as she snapped at him, they both quieted. She knew he knew she lied. Neither quite knew what to do. With a shrug, she eased her legs back onto the bed from where they’d dangled off the edge. “It’s fine. I’m sure you need to get back. Tell Dick I’ll be back in no time.”

Watching her for a bit longer, he finally nodded and pushed away. “I hope Doc doesn’t talk your ear off,” he joked. Then he looked at her again. “You’re safer than us, here.”

“Yeah.”

“Right. Well, get back to the front soon. Don’t leave me with Dick for too long. He gets boring after about twenty-four hours.” When he saw her smile, he nodded. “Good luck.”

After seeing her nod, he left the tent. Nixon took another drink of his flask as he stood outside the Field Hospital. Nursing staff and surgeons moved around quickly, tending to the new wounded who poured in off and on. Quite a few men from 3rd Battalion were here. 

The sun sank below the horizon as he found a jeep heading back to 2nd Battalion. Strayer and Dick both needed to be updated, the former on casualty rates and the latter on Alice. Despite what he’d said about Dick not being angry, he was worried. Alice had been unconscious when she was transferred to a jeep to head to Battalion Aid.

Ralph Spina had assured them it was from the morphine, not the wound itself. But it hadn’t done much to calm anyone’s nerves, least of all himself, Dick, or Harry. It had scared him, seeing her transferred from Johnny Martin and Bill Guarnere’s support to a stretcher. She’d been totally peaceful. In fact that alone had been enough to make him worried. Not the peaceful look itself, but the realization that she hadn’t looked like that in many, many months. 

Nixon pulled himself into the passenger side of the jeep. The corporal driving left him alone to his own thoughts. He lit a cigarette as they set off towards the front. Letting the nicotine relax him a bit, he took several deep breaths.

That lack of peacefulness combined with the fear he had seen in her face when he’d mentioned leaving had him concerned. As far as he was aware, no one else knew about the letters she’d received from her cousin. Talking about her problems was not a strength that Alice had ever had. Still if she had told anyone else, he narrowed it down to a few names: Harry Welsh, George Luz, Bill Guarnere, Ron Speirs, Doc Roe.

Ron was almost certainly out of the question. Though 2nd Battalion was all near each other in Holland, only he had frequent or even infrequent contact with Dog and Fox. Alice had not. George Luz was a high possibility. They’d been close since the first day at Toccoa two years and a half years prior. Nixon held a lot of respect for George, and had since training. He made a mental note to talk to him when he got a chance.

Bill Guarnere was hit or miss when it came to knowing things about Alice. Of the enlisted, only Doc and George Luz were closer to her. But Nixon knew it had taken months for Alice to get over the events of the Samaria. It had taken quite some time to find out about the fight between Liebgott and Guarnere, but when Nixon did, everything had made so much more sense. It made him wonder if Alice shared information regarding the Jews of Europe with him.

Doc Roe didn’t matter. Even if he knew, Nixon had no way of talking to him, as he was holed up next to Alice in the hospital. That left Harry Welsh. He decided to ask Harry when he got back to Easy Company.

He decided to ask Harry and George about anything else they may have found out about her lately. Though Nixon did his best to spend time with Easy when he could, recently and going forward he knew he’d been more and more responsible for the Regiment and Battalion, rather than any individual company. 

When the jeep dropped him off at Easy’s new base camp, it was nearly midnight. Still, clouds covered the sky. Nixon thanked the corporal and moved off to find Dick. He found the man talking to Harry, sitting together on the grass.

“You two look so happy,” he muttered. “Give me whatever you’re drinking.”

Harry let out a small laugh and Dick just shook his head. Both knew they looked as far from happy as possible. As Nixon joined them, they passed him a cup of coffee.

“How’s Alice?” Harry asked.

Nixon shrugged. “I spoke to the surgeon and a nurse. Both she and Doc will be there at least two weeks.”

“Great,” muttered Harry.

“Alice is probably the least happy about it,” Nixon admitted. He took a drink of the coffee. He scrunched up his face in disgust. “This is horrible.” When he realized they were waiting for him to explain, he sighed. “I don’t know why, but she looked legitimately afraid to be left at the hospital.”

“Scared?” Dick asked, surprised. “Not angry?”

“Right.”

After a few minutes of silence, Nixon finally decided to ask what they knew about the letters. Harry knew about them, said he’d been there when she first got them. Dick knew nothing. For about half an hour, they started comparing notes on Alice’s recent behavior. All agreed she’d had a much shorter fuse than usual. But then, who hadn’t.

“Keep an eye on here,” Nixon told them. He stood up to go find Strayer so he could sleep. “When she gets back.”

They both agreed. Walking away from them, distant low level artillery sounding in the background, he sighed. Nixon took a drink. His head started to hurt. Then again, when didn’t it when he thought about her? She could take care of herself, and yet, it stressed him out every time she did something stupid. Finally it had ended with her in a hospital. He didn’t know whether to gloat that he’d been right not to send her, or to go sit by her bed until she got better so she wouldn’t do anything else dumb. The stress headache only increased.

But then, there were plenty of times she didn't give him a headache. And frankly, being around her and hearing her laugh, however infrequent that was these days, was worth it. He counted himself lucky that he was one of the people who could get her to laugh.


	62. Chapter Sixty Two

  
**October 4, 1944**

_Nijmegen, Gelderland, the Netherlands_

* * *

Busting out of the field hospital with Eugene Roe maybe hadn’t been her smartest move, but after two weeks of off and on panic attacks, her body had somehow managed to convince her brain that if she stayed in the hospital any longer, she’d never, ever get out. So though Gene had protested at her going with him, she hadn’t listened.

That wasn’t to say her arm didn’t hurt. Too much movement too quickly still made her cringe back in pain. But Gene had looked at it and agreed it wasn’t infected. The stitches looked good, the drainage almost nonexistent. Alice knew that would be as close to approval of leaving as she would get from the medic. The muscles would take months, but the skin looked good, so with that in mind she got into the jeep heading for Nijmegen.

When the jeep pulled up to the base set up in Nijmegen, the daylight had faded to night. Alice couldn’t stop herself from smiling though. Finally, finally after days and days of cloud cover, she could see the stars. She could see the Moon. While Gene moved off, she stood looking at the sky.

“Boy oh boy, is that who I think it is?”

Alice looked to the right. Her smile widened when she saw Floyd Talbert walking over with an arm full of what looked to be a crate of K Rations. At his side, a beautiful Shepherd dog had what could only be described as a smile on its face.

“Holy shit it is.” Talbert laughed and walked over to her. He dropped the crate to the side. “Welcome back, Lieutenant,” he said, falling back on his go to tease.

Alice laughed at him and pulled him into a hug. When she pulled away, her attention fell on the dog at his side. “Hey there, baby. How are you?” Alice held out her fist for the dog to smell. It did so without fuss. Confident it wouldn’t bite, Alice ran a hand through its fur. “Aren’t you a cutie.”

“Thanks,” Talbert said.

With another laugh, she stood back up. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Tab. Could use a shower though.”

Something between a laugh and a scoff escaped him. He shook his head. “Come on, girl. The others might kill me if you spend all your time with me.”

“You flatter yourself.”

He just shrugged. “Come on. You seen the officers yet?”

“No. I just got here. Gene wandered off somewhere before you showed up.”

“Well, Dick- Lieutenant Winters- has the company housed in and around a barn outside of town,” he said. Talbert picked his crate of rations back up. Setting off in the direction he’d pointed to, he just grinned. “He’s probably there with Welsh, at least.”

Alice walked alongside him. “What’s the puppy’s name?”

“He’s not a puppy. He’s a dog.” Talbert just smirked when Alice sent him a dissatisfied frown. “I don’t have a name for him yet. Any ideas?”

“Not off the top of my head.”

He shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

They continued walking through the dark, around the edge of town. Nijmegen wasn’t particularly huge, but it wasn’t small either. Alice remembered reading that Nijmegen was the oldest city in the Netherlands. Hopefully the war would be kind to it. After crossing to the far side of the Waal River, they saw their base camp.

A large, dark wooden barn stood not far from the city walls. Large trees grew up around it. Their leaves fluttered in the gentle wind. Light flooded out below the doors at the entrance and the few windows along the sides. It looked oddly cozy. Certainly better than the field hospital. Alice shivered when she thought about it.

Talbert pushed a side door open. In the center of the barn, a large wooden table sat with a few men playing cards on it. Another two tables were pushed against the walls. The lights were low, only a few casting shadows around the barn. She looked up. In the loft, sleeping soldiers snoozed away. At the far end she saw George and Skip sitting on a bench, comparing letters. At their entrance, both looked up.

“Holy shit.” George said. He took his cigarette out of his mouth.

At the same time, Skip Muck just started laughing. “Ay! She’s back!”

The dozen soldiers sitting around the bottom floor looked from them to Alice and Talbert in surprise. It was all smiles. Hoobler started clapping with a huge grin while Liebgott and Alley started heckling her for being missing. A few heads popped over the edge of the loft. Alice recognized Garcia and Hashey from Bull’s squad. Alice reminded herself to talk to them later about rescuing him.

From around a corner, Harry and Dick appeared. The former was grinning, and Dick just shook his head with a smile. He walked over through the crowd and looked at her. “You’re not supposed to be back yet.”

“What are you going to do? Send me home? Germany isn’t looking too good right now.” Alice shrugged, looking past him to Harry. She winked at the other officer before turning to Dick again. “Besides, Gene left today, too. He was hit just as bad.”

“Just be careful,” he said.

Alice forced a smile. Turning away from Dick, she waved to Harry. As the officers drew away, the enlisted swarmed her. After a moment, Alice shied away. Someone had touched her left arm. Alice hissed in pain. At this point it had turned from a party over her return to just an excuse to be happy with each other.

“Jesus Chirst! Give her some space.” Bill Guarnere’s grumbling sounded from nearby. He grabbed two of the guys and pushed them away.

“Back the hell up!” Joe Toye said next.

Everyone backed up as Alice grabbed at her arm. But she just nodded. “It’s fine! It’s fine. Really. Just don’t touch the arm.” She pointed to her left side.

As the group broke off to go back to sleep or cards, Alice stood watching them. It felt good to be back among the men, away from the hospital. As she moved away, someone popped up next to her. She gasped, but George just started laughing.

“How was the vacation?” he asked her.

She followed him back over to the table where he’d been sitting with Skip. It didn’t take long for Bill and Joe Toye to join them.

“Vacation?” Alice scoffed. “Please.”

“Better not getcha self fuckin’ shot again, sweetheart. You’re heavier than you look,” Bill told her. He squished in next to her. “Me and Johnny nearly dropped ya.”

As both George and Joe started laughing, Alice just shook her head. She rolled her eyes. Before she could respond, Talbert came back over and stuck a coffee cup in front of her. She thanked him. With a nearby crate, Talbert sat at the end of the table next to her and Joe.

“You all look…” She trailed off. They looked tired and dirty and quiet, now that the immediate excitement had worn off. Every one of them had a thin layer of dirt or grime across their faces. “Like hell,” she decided on.

Joe snorted. “Hit it right on the nose.”

“No need to insult us,” Bill muttered back. “I will say, you’re a sight for sore eyes though. You look fucking fantastic. Enjoy a couple showers at the hospital?”

She nodded. “One or two.” Lifting the coffee to her lips, she let the lukewarm drink flood her mouth and coat her taste buds. Alice closed her eyes. “This isn’t bad, Tab.”

“I do my best to please,” he teased.

“So,” she said with a pause. She looked around at the four of them and lowered her voice. “I know things aren’t going well. How’s Easy?”

“Fuckin’ Krauts ain’t old men and kids,” muttered Bill. “That’s for sure.”

Joe agreed. “They got a helluva lot of fire power. And they ain’t backing down.”

“Right.”

While Bill, Joe, and Talbert started chatting, bringing her up to speed on what Easy Company had done for the past two weeks, Alice could feel George watching her from straight across. No matter how much she pretended to be paying attention, she knew it didn’t fool him. Still, sitting and listening to her friends lifted her spirits.

Soon enough they had to turn all but a few gas lamps off. Bill and Joe moved off to sleep. Leaving the table, Alice took up an empty spot along the wall. She accepted a handful of rough blankets from Talbert and settled in.

A few hours later and Alice still hadn’t been able to sleep. Tiptoeing through the mostly silent barn, she left by way of the side door she’d come in from. Outside the stars and Moon decorated the sky. She settled down at the base of a nearby tree and took out a cigarette.

Before too long, she heard panting and footsteps. Alice took out her cigarette and twisted to try and figure out what it was. She forced a small smile when Talbert crouched next to her, his dog coming to sit in front of her.

“Not sleepy?” he asked.

“Not particularly.”

“Eh neither am I.” Settling down on her left, he grabbed a stick that had fallen from the tree. With a smile, he showed it to the dog. “Here buddy. Go get it!” Talbert tossed it away.

Alice smiled after it as it bounded away. When the dog came back and dropped the stick at Talbert’s lap, she chuckled. She ran her fingers through its fur. The dog turned away from Talbert and stuck its face in her own. Alice laughed, tears forming as the dog nuzzled her. She grabbed it around the neck and buried her face in its fur. It felt softer than she had expected.

“He’s a great dog, ain’t he,” Talbert said as she drew back. With a smile, he ran a hand through his hair. “That’s why he needs the perfect name. He’s German. Got any good German names?”

Alice shrugged. “Might not want a German name, Tab.”

“Yeah, why’s that? He’s German, isn’t he?”

With a sigh, she ran her hand absentmindedly through the dog’s fur. He lay on her leg, calm, sleeping. The warmth of the dog’s body brought her more comfort than any cigarette could. She turned back to Talbert. “We aren’t a very popular group around here.”

“We?” With a small laugh, Talbert shook his head. “Listen, you're no Kraut. The person who shot you made a mistake.”

“I know,” she assured him. “But I do need to be more careful about who knows I’m German. This is only going to get worse before it gets better, Tab.”

He looked at her closely. Alice met his gaze. After a few moments he nodded and turned back to the dog between them. “What about Trigger? I’ve been thinking about that for awhile, but I thought maybe I’d find a good name unrelated to the war.”

“I like it. Trigger. It’s cute.”

Talbert let out a light laugh. “Great. Cute’s what I was going for.”

Just as Alice went to defend herself, she found Gene Roe walking up to them next to Spina. He stopped in front of them. With arms folded, he glared down at both of them. “What are you doing? You need to sleep!”

“Gene-”

But he wouldn’t hear it. Shaking his head, he pointed down at her. “No! You shouldn’t even be back from the hospital. Talbert, stop keeping her awake.”

“Says the one with a limp,” Alice bit back.

But she knew when she was beaten. Spina looked about as put out with her as Gene. As she grumbled and got up from the tree, she and Talbert went inside. She caught the tail end of Spina yelling at Gene to do the same. A yawn escaped her. Grinning at the way Spina told off Gene, she joined Talbert, George, and Trigger with the blankets inside.


	63. Chapter Sixty Three

It took a full day before all of Easy Company knew she was back. Johnny had good fun bugging her about getting shot, and once Bill got wind of his antics, they went on for quite awhile. After dinner, quite a bit of Third Platoon and most of Second were assigned to one of the Island’s borders. Five men from First had been sent on patrol including Liebgott and Alley. When Alice walked back into the barn after taking a stroll, she found it quite subdued.

At the far table, Dick sat with George, neither speaking. George had gotten ahold of crackers of some sort and muched away next to his radio. At the table in the center, Dukeman and Talbert had just finished a card game. A handful of other men meandered about, most from First. 

Alice spotted Babe Heffron along the wall, sitting quietly and sipping at coffee. She hadn’t spoken much to him, as she’d gotten wounded so close to when they’d jumped into Holland. But Bill liked the kid, so she wanted to make an effort to get to know him. Making her way over, Alice took off her helmet and smiled down at him.

“Lieutenant?” He looked up at her in mild confusion.

Alice smiled. “Just Alice.” 

She gestured next to him. When he shrugged and shook his head, she took up the spot to his right. His red hair looked more brown from dirt. She sent him a small smile.

“Babe.” She took a deep breath and nodded. “Interesting nickname.”

He let out a small laugh. “Yeah, ain’t it.”

“So, how’d you get it?””

Babe smiled and shook his head. “I ain’t told any body yet. So unless it’s an order?”

Alice laughed at him. “No, not an order.” She pulled a ration bar out of her pocket and set to work on it. Between bites she just smirked again and shook her head. “Come on, why Babe?”

He started laughing at her. “Well, fine, but if I tell ya’ you’ve gotta keep it to yourself.”

“Deal.”

Babe took a deep breath. A smile crept on his face. “Right, ok. So when I was a baby, my brother didn’t know how ‘ta say baby. So he thought my name was Babe. It stuck.”

With a small laugh, Alice shook her head. “That’s cute. I like it.”

He scoffed. “Hey! Don’t you be spreadin’ that.” Babe glared at her but then added a quick, “Lieutenant.”

Alice shook her head with a grin. Her laughter wouldn’t stop as she started snickering into the darkness of the barn. “Babe! I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“Good.”

Suddenly the doors flew open. Chaos erupted in the barn as someone started shouting. Alice and Babe both scrambled up. Between Lesniewski and Liebgott, Alley dangled on the edge of consciousness. Blood streamed down his face and bare chest. As Lipton, Dick, and the other men in the barn rushed around him, Boyle shot off to find Doc Roe.

Alice listened to Liebgott, who she noticed was bleeding from the neck, explain it had happened at the crossroads of the dike, she watched Dick Winters. She could all but see him work. His thinking stopped, however, when Lesniewski started blaming Liebgott. Alice wasn’t at all surprised to see Liebgott snap back at him, given that Moe Alley was maybe Liebgott’s best friend in the company.

“Lesniewski,” Dick said, “send for Lieutenant Welsh!”

With a last glance at Liebgott, the man did as he was ordered. With that out of the way, Dick turned to Lipton. “Assemble me a squad.”

As he did so, calling for First Squad to grab weapons and ammo, Gene rushed in. The men backed away to give him room. As Gene began to talk to Alley slowly and with care, simultaneously giving instructions to the men staying behind, Alice moved over to Dick.

“Stay here, wait for Harry,” he told her. “When he gets back, you two assemble another squad. I’ll have Luz contact you with further instructions.”

“Right.” She nodded at him. “Good luck.”

Dick took a breath and nodded back at her. As the men finished up grabbing weapons and ammunition, Dick joined Lipton and Talbert. Alice watched them go. As the doors of the barn swung closed behind them, she turned to where Gene, Bull, and Trigger himself helped the injured Alley.

‘Babe!” Alice called. When he came over she nodded. “Go find Second Platoon, let them know we’re sending men to the crossroads and may need help.” She hurried back over to the table. “Anything I can do,” Alice asked Gene.

Gene shook his head and looked around. “Don’t aggravate your arm, and that’ll be help enough.”

Alice stopped everything and glared at him. It took a moment before Gene met her gaze. With a sigh he shook his head. “Keep using the sulfa. But I’m serious.”

“Keep off your leg then,” she snapped back. 

She didn’t miss the look shared between Bull and Gene.

After yelling at him, Alice didn’t waste any time in picking up the sulfa pack that Liebgott had abandoned in favor of joining the assault squad. Taking Alley’s hand, she smiled down at him. “Hey Alley.”

“Hey Alice,” he mumbled.

“You don’t look so bad,” she assured him. “Not as bad as we all did after Sobel’s night marches. Or that time when you ran Currahee on a full stomach.”

A ghost of a smile passed Alley’s blood-covered lips. He started blinking, trying to stay awake. “Hah, fuck Sobel.”

Alice could stop her quiet laugh. She rubbed the back of his hand. While Gene set to work patching him up, she just finished the sulfa and smiled at him. “Trust me, Alley. You’re gonna be fine, ok?”

“M’k.”

As he closed his eyes, Alice glanced up at Gene. He assured her it was from the morphine, nothing else. The blood flow began to slow as bandages were tied and the easiest to reach shrapnel removed.

“Bull, go find me a litter,” he ordered. 

The man ran off and Gene finished inspecting Alley. Standing away from the bloody table, Alice just stood alone. Before long, Bull and Gene had hoisted Alley onto a litter and taken him off to Battalion Aid.

The barn stood eerily silent. Pretty much every man in the barn had been assembled for the squad. Anyone who hadn’t, had gone to find the rest of First Platoon. Alice was about ready to scream in frustration at the silence. Suddenly something warm, wet, and rough licked at her hand.

She jumped in fright. Next to her, Trigger stood quietly. As her heart rate returned to normal, she forced a tiny smile. Alice knelt next to him. “Hey buddy.” She rubbed behind his ears. “Aren’t you just so sweet. Oh my goodness, aren’t you.”  
A door crashed open. Footsteps echoed through the barn. Alice looked up.

“How’s Alley?” Harry Welsh stormed in. Perconte and Lesniewski hurried after him. He looked at the blood all over her hands. 

Alice shrugged, standing up from beside Trigger. “Gene and Bull took him to Battalion Aid. For a grenade spread, it actually didn’t look that bad.”

He nodded. “Lesniewski, I want you to track down Lieutenant Peacock. Have him organize the rest of First,” Harry said. 

“Right.”

As Lesniewski rushed out of the barn, Harry turned to Alice. “How long ago did Dick leave?”

“Twenty minutes, maybe?”

“Right. Until we hear from him we sit tight.” Harry looked behind him. “Perconte?”

“Sir?”

“Stay on that radio like your life depends on it. Let me know as soon as Captain Winters calls.”

“Yes, sir.”

The barn quieted again. Only their heavy breathing and the panting of Trigger at their feet made any noise. The radio stayed eerily silent. Before long, Perconte took up a spot at a table, leaving Harry and Alice standing by themselves, both with their arms crossed.

“How’s your arm?” Harry asked after a few minutes. “Hopefully didn’t hurt it further?”

Alice scoffed in disbelief. “Unbelievable. Is everyone going to be overly concerned with my recovery? I’ll let someone know if it gets worse!”

“Sorry,” Harry muttered. But then he straightened up and lowered his voice. “Several people have been concerned over you recently.”

“Why?”

Harry looked at her closely, almost warily. He didn’t know how much to say in that moment. Finally he sighed. Pulling his canteen out, he took a drink. “Listen. I don’t know when exactly, but you started acting weird. Before you yell at me!” He held up his hands. “People are just concerned about you.”

“Ridiculous,” she scoffed. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Are you?” He looked at her closely, not dropping his eye contact. When she looked away he shrugged. “Did you ever open those last three letters? Because it seems to me everything leads back to them.”

Her heart stopped for a moment, breath catching in her throat. She hadn’t opened them. But they sat in one of her breast pockets, ready to be read. “No, I haven’t. But, if it’ll make you feel better,” she snapped, “I promise to let someone know if there’s something I can’t handle.”

“That’s all we ask. You don’t have to do this alone, that’s why the army is made up of groups of people: squads, platoons, companies, battalions. No one fights any of this by themselves.”

She watched him carefully. “Poetic.”

He started snickering. Taking another drink of his canteen, Harry looked back at where Perconte sat with his radio. “Anything?”

“Nothin’, sir.”

The doors flew open again. Peacock and a dozen men came inside, guns and ammunition ready. Harry called Peacock over and explained the situation, or what they knew of it at least.

“When Captain Winters calls, he may need reinforcements,” Harry said.

Perconte interrupted him. “Sir! Captain Winters for you!” 

Harry hurried over. When Perconte told the other end of the radio to expect Lieutenant Welsh, he then took the phone. Alice, Peacock, and all the enlisted watched him closely. It didn’t take long for him to hang up the phone.

“Lieutenant Peacock, take the balance of First and a machine gun squad from Fox’s reserves. Head to the crossroads by the dike, across the road. Captain Winters will be waiting for you.” Harry pointed to Peacock and the rest of the men. “Perconte, call Fox’s first platoon, let them know to supply an M.G. squad.”

“Sir.”

The men sprang into action immediately. With Perconte’s call going through, the rest of the men of First Platoon hurried off after Peacock, Perconte included. Harry and Alice were once again left in the CP with Trigger.

“Hell of a first day back, Alice,” muttered Harry a few moments later. He shot her a tight smile. “How is that arm doing?”

“It’s fine. Hurts, a little,” she finally admitted. 

“War is hell,” he said.

She couldn’t help but laugh a little at the tiny smirk he sent her way. Settling on one of the table’s benches, she continued to scratch at Trigger’s ears. The dog started panting in pleasure. Harry crouched down on the dog’s other side.

“This is Tab’s dog, right? What is he calling it?”

“Trigger.”

Harry chuckled. “Trigger, eh. Cute.”

“That’s what I said, and Tab nearly bit my head off for it!” 

As Trigger turned to Harry and started licking his face, the man just smiled. He pushed him off weakly. “Too bad dogs can’t make jumps.”

With a hum in agreement, Alice started moving her arm, trying to get the muscle to work more. She gritted her teeth. The pain increased for a bit as she worked at it. “How long until dawn?”

“Couple hours.”

Alice sighed. She looked from Trigger to Harry. He watched her carefully. With a deep sigh, she shrugged. “Maybe I should open those letters.”

Harry didn’t respond. But every move she made, she could feel him watching, observing. Making up her mind, she reached into one of the oversized pockets of her paratrooper coat. Six letters came out, three open, three unopened. Part of her wished Harry could read German and read them for her. But he couldn’t.

She set the three opened ones on the table behind her. With a quick rub of Trigger’s head, she sighed. Alice opened the next one.

_“Dear Addy,_

_Mila and I, the girl who’s in here with us, pass the time by talking about our homes sometimes. I don’t really remember much about Germany. I was only there a year. I miss Arnhem, though. And I miss when you and Bernadette and even Robert and Marc would come see us. I miss the farm, with all the cows and sheep. I miss the sky, too. In here we have one tiny little window near the top of the cellar. Sometimes Mila and I take turns looking out, especially if it’s raining._

_I hope you’re alright. You and Bernadette, especially._

_Love,_  
_Elsa.”_

The letter had been dated March 1944. 

Alice had to remind herself to breathe. Despite knowing that Harry watched her like a hawk, or a concerned mother hen, she just folded the letter back up and placed it in the envelope. It joined the other opened ones on the table. The next one opened easily.

_“Dear Addy,_

_I hate him. I know I shouldn’t hate people, but I hate the Führer. Why does Hitler want us dead? What did we ever do? We are as German as he is, moreso even! I wish I could shoot him, end this, so we wouldn’t have to hide in this stupid little cellar._

_But I know I shouldn’t hate people. Mama says it’s against what God wants. Papa stays quiet about it, but I think he agrees with me. Tomas and James, do. But for Mama’s sake, we won’t leave. I just wish I could protect her some other way than hiding._

_Love,_  
_Elsa"_

It read May 1944

She didn’t even wait to think before opening the final letter. Her chest hurt as she cut through the envelope fold with her thumb as best she could. All her focus turned to the German script.

_“Dear Addy,_

_I think this might be it. I’m not really scared any more. Honestly, I’d like to think that in death at least there will be a release from this hiding place. Since the Allies landed in Normandy, the Germans have increased their retaliation against resistance. I heard they started executing hundreds of people, some resistance and some not. There’s even been talk of the Germans starting to round up non-jews for the camps._

_Since I haven’t heard from you, I must assume you met a worse fate than us. I’ll try to write to you when I can, out of hope, but our host said he can’t risk sending mail anymore. But maybe, if you are alive, you’ll get to see a free France._

_With love,_  
_Elsa Klein"_

June 21, 1944.

The room spun. Alice stared down at the handwriting for a while, not daring to fold the letter up. She wanted nothing more than to cry, to sob for her family and the families of everyone the Nazis were targeting. A deep anger mixed with despair, though, as the letter didn’t explain what had happened to her. She was almost certainly dead, or working in one of those labor camps for the war effort. But maybe, maybe she’d just stopped sending letters for fear of her own safety. Suddenly Alice didn’t know what was worse: living in fear of opening the letters, or living with the knowledge that she’d never know the answers she wanted.

“Well,” she said. Alice cleared her throat, putting the third letter back in it’s envelope. She stashed all six away. “At least they’re open.”

Harry watched her closely. He went to speak, but thought better of it. Instead he took a flask from his breast pocket and passed it over. She took it without a word.


	64. Chapter Sixty-Four

At 0800, after the sun rose brilliantly in the sky, word came by way of Lewis Nixon. Alice and Harry still sat or paced in the CP barn, the former snuggling up with Trigger for emotional and physical support. Her arm had started aching a few hours prior. When Nixon burst into the barn at almost eight on the dot, both of them started up.

“Come on! I’m heading to check out the line,” he said.

They got no more information than that until the three had barreled into a jeep. As a corporal drove them, Nixon turned around in his seat and tried to bring them up to speed on what he knew; the Germans and the Americans had clashed at dawn, two companies full of SS versus barely over a platoon of paratroopers, and the paratroopers had won. After about ten minutes, the jeep skidded to a halt on a gravel road. 

All around them, evidence of the battle littered the area. Piles of dead SS soldiers sat around the fields. The stench of death had just begun to permeate the air as the sun rose. Even as Nixon gave orders to send a group of prisoners back to the Allied CP, they came face to face with an exhausted Peacock.

Alice listened to him explain the battle to Nixon and Harry. The biggest thing she got out of it was they’d suffered twenty-two wounded. Peacock called it lucky. Alice called it a shame.

It didn’t take long for her to lose track of both Harry and Nixon. The pain in her arm only increased as she stumbled around the battlefield, the ground marred by artillery and grenades. As she stood looking out over the field, bodies of German soldiers lying prostrate on the damp, damaged soil, her heart constricted again. 

Germans. She was German. They were German. If these men held but half the love of the Fatherland that she held, Alice could almost understand their desire to bring it honor. She’d seen the horrible conditions, the shame left on Germany after their defeat in the Great War. World War One, now, she supposed. She understood the frustrations her people felt at their disgrace.

Looking down into the face of a young, dead member of the SS, she once again was hit with a wave of guilt. These were her brethren. They spoke her language, had walked her cities. They knew her music, her art. The brown eyes staring back at her, unseeing, could’ve easily belonged to her brothers.

As she stood there, overlooking the corpse-riddled field, an image popped into her mind. Caspar David Friedrich’s painting “Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer”. Here she stood, alone, looking out not over a sea of fog, but a sea of death. 

“Alice.”

It took a moment before she turned around. With a small, forced smile, she found Gene and George Luz both making their way to her. The former seemed about as in pain as she felt, no doubt due to the limp he still experienced.

“Good work,” she said, working her way back over to them. “Twenty-two wounded. Any deaths?”

George paused for a moment. Pain crossed his expression before he nodded. “Dukeman.”

“I’m sorry.”

No one said anything else. I’m sorry seemed to be the only good response to the death of the Toccoa man. Together they moved back towards where Easy had gathered. As they did so, they passed a few POWs waiting for instructions. They spoke German in thinly veiled whispers. Two of them looked genuinely concerned about how they were to be treated.

Alice looked at them. They looked back. Upon realizing she was a woman, they all started moving closer, more confused than anything else, she guessed. With a sigh, she went to move on. But then she stopped. She wanted to assure them they’d be treated fairly. Alice moved over, but not too close. “Keine Bange. Sie werden dich nicht töten.”

Upon her German, they started in surprise. Christenson and Johnny stood guarding them and looked over in concern. One of the SS, a young man, looked from them to Alice.

“Sie sind Deutsch?”

“Ja. Ich komme aus Hamburg.”

The oldest one present scoffed. He stood up and moved towards her. “Und doch trägst du eine amerikanische Uniform.” When Johnny stood in his way, rifle to stop him, he just sneered. “Verräterin!”

She didn’t allow herself to flinch at his accusation. It was true, after all. She was German. She wore the enemy’s uniform. To them, she was a traitor. And to be fair, she had betrayed Hitler’s Germany. They weren’t wrong. But it still hurt. As Alice stood silent, looking at the prisoners, no one else spoke. After a good half minute of silence, she turned from them and went to find the others.

The man called after her. “Wo warst du, als Hamburg brannte?” 

Alice stopped in her tracks. She heard someone get punched, and the moans of the victim. She remembered exactly where she’d stood when Hamburg had burned: E Company barracks, Camp Mackall, North Carolina, United States. Operation Gomorrah, which brought “brimstone and fire from out of the heavens.” Thirty-five thousand civilians killed. Over a hundred thousand wounded and displaced. 

When she managed to keep moving again, Alice rejoined the bulk of the force Easy had arrived with. On a small hill, Skip and Alex sat messing with their gear. The former had somehow acquired a silver spoon and used it to poke his friend behind the ear repeatedly. Alice found herself almost smiling at their antics. Closer to her, More and Smokey worked at a small fire and coffee pot. Their skin looked almost brown from the dirt caked to their faces. Behind them, Malarkey, Skinny, and Gene joined the group.

Dick and Colonel Sink stood off to the side, chatting quietly. As she stood and watched the boys around her, silent, someone came up next to her. She looked left. “Johnny.”

“You good?” He asked it quietly, looking between her and the men around them. Shuffling, he gestured back towards where he’d been with the prisoners. “They’re off to the CP now.”

Alice hummed. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Right.” Then he glanced past her. He nodded back down the road. “I think Captain Nixon needs you.”

Alice turned around. Sure enough, Nixon walked towards them, cigarette between his lips. When he reached them, he nodded to both Johnny and Alice. “Helluva fight you guys had.”

“Yeah,” Johnny nodded. “Sure was, sir.”

“Lieutenant, can I borrow you a minute,” Nixon said.

She nodded and moved off with him towards Dick and Colonel Sink. They stood waiting. When the four of them stood together, Sink looked at both Nixon and Alice. “Captain Winters is now the Battalion XO. With Major Horton killed, Strayer needs some help. Moose Heyliger will be taking over Easy.”

Alice stood, stunned. She liked Moose, but losing Dick to Battalion would be a blow to everyone in the company. She listened as he went on to explain that Harry Welsh would continue as company XO for the foreseeable future, but that there had been talk of him taking over as XO of the Headquarters company. Yet another blow.

Then Sink turned to her, head on. “For now, continue as you’ve been proceeding, Alice. But we may move you up as well, out of Easy Company, and focus your efforts more on the Battalion and Regiment as a whole. Your assistance in the liberation of Eindhoven has not gone unnoticed. Nixon,” he said, turning to the man next to her, “if that’s the case, you two will work together at the S-2 position.”

Nixon nodded. “Right.”

“Then let’s clean this puppy up and get back to the CP.” Sink looked around at all three of them before moving back towards his Jeep. 

They stood together in silence as he sped off. All of a sudden, Alice wasn’t sure what to be more afraid of: losing Dick to Battalion staff, or losing Easy Company. As the sounds of the jeep disappeared, they turned to each other.

“We should get back to the CP,” Dick said, a moment later. “Harry’s going to stay and organize the prisoners here.”

They split up quietly. Nixon and Dick went to a newly arrived Jeep to do exactly that. But Alice lingered on the battlefield. Her thoughts ran a mile a minute. Moving a bit away from the men of Easy Company, Alice tried to calm her racing thoughts and racing heart. In a matter of a single conversation, what she thought she knew had been flipped upside down. It had been hard enough to work without Nixon in Easy, but he’d moved out of the Company long before they’d ever even invaded Europe. She’d been working with Dick and Harry for a long, long time.

The one good thing, she supposed, was if she did get moved out of Easy, at least so would Dick and, probably, Harry, and maybe all four including Nixon would be working together at the Battalion level. But it brought only a little comfort. Easy Company had become her home.

“Hey, cherie. How’s the arm?”

Instead of irritated or disappointed, as Gene’s tone had sounded with her since she’d left the hospital, his question seemed genuinely concerned. She looked to her left as he came to stand next to her. Alice just shrugged.

“You good?”

Alice shrugged. “Je sais pas.”

With a deep breath, and a close look, he nodded. “Allons-y.”

Following him back down the road towards the trucks and jeeps, she watched the men around her laughing despite their obvious exhaustion. Skip continued to mess with Malarkey and Alex Penkala. Nearby, George and Perconte talked together. Overall, the platoon looked in high spirits. 

And those high spirits continued well into the night, even when they all roamed around the CP yet again. News of Dick’s promotion had made the rounds soon after the battle, and for some time, the company moped. But they knew Moose Heyliger, and they liked him, so it softened the blow some. No one knew of the potential future losses of Harry or Alice, though, and neither seemed inclined to share.

For now, they would continue as they had since D-Day. They still had a few days of Dick Winters before Moose would arrive. So First Platoon, once again in reserve, just sat around the CP farmhouse chewing at terrible British rations, sipping at tea, and mourning the loss of the coffee. Apparently the pot brewed after the battle had been the last of the supply. It amused her, and she knew it would change when they actually lost him to Battalion, but the loss of their precious coffee seemed to hurt the company more in morale than the loss of Dick.


	65. Chapter Sixty Five

Their numbers dwindled daily. Of the one hundred and thirty enlisted and officers who jumped into Holland a month earlier, they had only about a hundred left. Easy Company had been spread too thin. They’d lost Buck and Lieutenant Hudson to injury. Dukeman had been shot straight through the heart. Two dozen other replacements had been killed or wounded in action.

Most recently, Bill Guarnere himself had been taken off the line with a bullet wound to the leg and a fractured tibia. Of course, he’d also taken shrapnel to his butt, which the company wouldn’t let him live down. He became casualty number three of Easy Company to be “shot in the ass.” First Popeye, then Buck, and now Wild Bill, ol Gonorrhea himself.

As Alice lay awake in her bed in the room adjacent to Nixon and Dick, she just snuggled closer to the comforter. Tonight she would be accompanying some of Easy on Operation Pegasus. A few days prior, Colonel Sink and Major Strayer had met with her, Nixon, and Dick along with a British officer Colonel Dobie, to go over a rescue plan for some of the “Red Devils” stuck over the Lower Rhine.

It sounded feasible. Dobie had swum the Lower Rhine just a few days prior in order to make contact with the Allies on the Island. Alice had then managed to get in contact with a few members of the Dutch Resistance and further support the operation.

Moose Heyliger would lead, Harry as the main officer in support. They’d take six boats and make three trips to carry the one hundred and forty men back across. Alice had convinced them to let her come, citing the need for someone who could translate with the Resistance if need be.

A knock sounded on her door. Alice groaned into the pillow. She rotated in bed to face the door but refused to get up. Someone knocked again.

“Alice, get up!”

Nixon. He sounded as tired as she felt. Alice still refused to move.

“Alice, if you don’t send some sort of signal, I’m going to have to come in. Dressed or not!”

She rolled her eyes but sat up in bed. Pulling the comforter around herself like a cape, Alice just stared at the door. As he warned her again through the door, she just smirked. Not a moment later, he opened the door and started leaning in the door frame. Behind him in the hall she saw both Dick and Harry standing, talking to each other.

Nixon was pulled on his jacket. He smirked at her. “Least you’re dressed. I’d hate to see the scandal that would come out of me walking in on you otherwise.”

“You would’ve liked that, wouldn’t you.”

At her very pointed joke, he froze in surprise, but then started laughing. It took Alice a moment to realize what she said. When she did, she put her face in her hands. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. Nixon still hadn’t stopped chuckling even as he put his flask to his mouth.

“Fuck you, Nix,” she muttered. As he went to reply, eyes lighting up with amusement, she shook her head. “No! No, I can see you thinking. Stop. That’s an order.”

“You can’t give me orders, you’re a rank below me,” he reminded her.

Alice just rolled her eyes and stood up from the bed. She slipped the pants she’d tossed on a nearby chair over her shorts. She could tell that Nixon was still there. Her body felt all warm from some mix of embarrassment and something akin to longing. She turned back to him after grabbing her jacket.

“I’m only a rank below you because I’m a woman,” she said. Walking over to him, Alice pushed her arms through her jacket and smirked. “Just you wait, someday I’ll be giving you orders.”

Nixon scoffed with a smile. “Sure.” He followed her out and down the stairs. They joined Harry and Dick at the bottom. A small circular dining table had scrambled eggs on plates and orange juice prepared. She looked at it in awe.

“Is that something other than k rations or British stew?” Alice looked between the other three. “And it’s for us?”

“Complements of a farmer south of the Island. Apparently his sister spoke highly of you as she left Eindhoven,” Dick explained.

“Hurry up and start eating,” Harry ordered. “I want some too but the guy insisted you get the first round.”

It didn’t take anything more for her to slip into one of the four chairs. The fact that she got to use a real napkin and a real glass cup for real orange juice and real eggs almost made her cry. It felt so good, as had the shower she’d been able to use the night before. Mild guilt that the rest of Easy couldn’t join her made her pause, but she reminded herself to not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Before long, all four of them sat around the table. Talk soon turned to the large stack of reports Dick still had to type up, much to his chagrin. With Heyliger having taken over Easy a week prior, he’d been getting more and more familiar with just how much paperwork a staff officer had to engage in. Nixon and Harry enjoyed teasing him about it.

After breakfast, they split off to do their own assignments. Dick went up to his office. Nixon disappeared to find Colonel Dobie and go over the intelligence of the operation one more time. Harry had to go check on Second Platoon. But Alice just wanted to take a walk.

Her walk from the area near the Schoonderlogt Estate stayed relatively quiet. Almost all of Easy, Dog, and Fox were deployed along the Island, with each rotating their Platoons in reserve every so often. Anyone not working usually spent his time sleeping. Walking around anywhere north of Schoonderlogt could result in a nasty bullet wound, so Alice stuck to the areas behind the line.

After an hour of wandering around, she finally decided to head to the line itself. With Bill recovering in the hospital, Lipton and Joe Toye split responsibility of being Platoon Sergeant. As such it didn’t surprise her in the least to run into the latter walking along the line by himself.

“Joe.” She flagged him down. Crouching, she waited for him to walk over. “How’s it going?”

He moved over to her and crouched as well. Half paying attention to her, and half to the area occupied by the enemy up ahead, he scoffed. “Nice of you to join us out here. If we’d known it would take getting Bill’s sorry ass hit, we’d have done it sooner.”

She couldn’t stop from laughing. Alice shook her head. “I’ve been a little busy trying to help Dick adjust to not being in command of Easy.”

“I bet he’s as mad about it as we are,” Joe agreed.

“Trust me,” she said, “if he could be out here in the field instead of fighting off a mound of paperwork, he would.”

“Yeah, I know.” He looked around. “Come on, if you’re heading to the line you might as well come with me.”

She agreed. Following Joe, their guns ready and ears and eyes open for any sort of enemy target, Alice crept along the defensive perimeter. Easy Company was spread so thin, it amazed her that the Germans hadn’t managed to infiltrate their lines. But they hadn’t, a testament to the 506th.

By the time she and Joe had finished checking on the balance of Second Platoon, Alice decided she needed to head back. Moose and Harry would be meeting with Dobie soon to go over details of Operation Pegasus. So with a last few kind words to the men who would keep holding the line, Alice returned to First Platoon’s CP.

She got back to the CP by dinner. Easy’s First Platoon sat around the barn with Harry, Peacock, and Moose. They didn’t start talking tactics yet, instead focused on food. She slipped past Talbert and George to join the officers.

“Ready, Alice?” Moose asked her.

She nodded. “Eager to get started.”

Once they’d all finished their stew, Moose had the men quiet down. He went over the operation, code named Pegasus. He explained that Alice, through Dobie, had been in contact with the Resistance and the intelligence seemed sound. At this, the men seemed to settle down a bit.

After the hour briefing and questions, the men were dismissed to get ready. They would set off towards the launch point around 2200 hours. That gave about five hours to weapons checks, rest, and a bit of food.

Alice spent the time covering the metal pieces of her rifle. The less metal visible, the safer it would be. Most of them prepared in silence. Alice sought refuge in the barn with Trigger. Her arm had improved some in the couple weeks she’d been back on the line, but it still acted up. And since one of the guys had accidentally jostled her, it stung even more.

But with Trigger licking at her face, Alice couldn’t help but smile. She gently nudged the dog’s muzzle away before fixing her hair away from her eyes. In the quiet peace of that moment with Trigger, she just breathed.

“Alright, everyone up. Time to go,” Lipton said. “Meet your squads outside, let’s move boys.”

The peace evaporated. With a sigh, Alice forced herself up from the ground, trying not to pressure on her left arm. The darkness outside concealed them even from each other.

Getting to the river and across took until almost midnight. Some of Easy Company remained on the far shore ready to assist in covering fire. Others came across in the six boats. As the V for Victory was lit by the red flashlight of the men on the far shore, they prepared for their mission.

Moose gave Harry instructions on deploying their defense. As the man rushed off to do as he was told, Alice just crouched beside Moose in silence.

“So, Colonel, where are they?” Moose asked Dobie.

He pointed forward. After a moment of hesitation, he gave the sign. “Leicester.”

“Square!”

With the countersign correctly returned, Dobie beckoned his man forward. A man with a red beret dashed forward until he came to crouch beside the other Englishman. Pleasantries were exchanged.

“Never thought I’d be so glad to see a bloody Yank!”

Alice nearly laughed at the excited Red Devil. But as Moose told Dobie to get his men in order, she just waited for her own instructions. With Liebgott and Bull passing word that the Brits would be arriving shortly, Moose turned to her.

“I’m gonna stay here until all the Brits are across. Harry’s in charge of the perimeter. I want you and Peacock to go back across with the first trip, keep the Brits quiet and in line.” He nodded to her. Turning back, he hissed for the other Lieutenant. “Peacock, follow Lieutenant Klein’s lead. You two are in charge of keeping everybody quiet once they’re across.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Peacock nodded, Alice glanced over Moose to look at the young man. He met her gaze and gave a tiny nod. She liked Peacock well enough. He was kind, but not exactly a good Platoon Leader. She heard First grumbling about him more times than she could count while in the CP. It always started with ‘he ain’t a bad guy, but…’. She had to agree with their sentiments.

Before too long, Moose stood in conference with three of the British officers. She waited next to Peacock by the boats. On a single cue, the bank became flooded with the red-capped British men. They emerged from the trees like magic. Alice smiled as the evaders began to organize in platoons.

It didn’t take long before she boarded a boat with half a dozen Red Devils. Whenever one would catch a look of her face, there was a moment of disbelief. But the men of the British First Airborne had enough sense to keep their consternation quiet. No questions were asked, only glances of confusion.

Along with the paddles breaking through the river water, the sound of occasional mortar fire and 88s echoed around them. The Germans knew something was up. Alice held her breath as the boats glided through the water.

She leapt out onto the far shore and, with the help of another Brit, lugged it further up. It only took a few moments for the British First Airborne to vacate them and the couple men of Easy to head back across. Alice found Peacock.

“Peacock, take the men to the farmhouse a bit up the road. Get them food and water, rations at least. I’ll stay here and send them on as they arrive.”

At her instruction, he nodded. Alice watched as Peacock spoke in hushed whispers to the men leaving the boats. As they passed her, most did double takes. She just flashed a small smile.

Over the next hour, 138 evaders, mostly Brits of the 1st Airborne, but even some Russians and Dutch resistance men, crossed in the six boats provided by the 506th. It went off without a hitch. By the time the men of Easy came back across, only a few rounds had been traded with the enemy.

Colonel Dobie, Moose, and Harry met up with Alice as the last of the boats were lugged up onto shore. Dobie looked ecstatic. Once she told them where to meet the men, they set off themselves. From the farmhouse, they made their way back to Nijmegen, near where the 2nd Battalion CP stood.

While Harry, Dobie, and Moose went off to the party being arranged, Alice decided to find Dick first. She knew just how stressed he’d been. She took the old wooden stairs to the attic with care. The wood creaked beneath each step. When she reached the rail at the top of the stairs, she found Dick staring at his typewriter.

“You look happy,” she said, voice low.

He scoffed, pushing back in his chair. Sending her a tight, half smile, he shook his head. “Don’t patronize me, I know I look pretty bad.”

Alice chuckled and moved over towards the window. “Well, since you’re not demanding to know what happened, I’d guess you got the good news.”

“Nix told me it was a success.”

“Went perfectly, Dick. Moose is good.” Alice turned back into the room. “The men miss you though. You should come to the party.”

“No, no it’s fine.” He shook his head. “I’ve got too much to do, and they’re Moose’s men now.”

She shrugged. Taking a seat on a nearby wooden chair, Alice took off her helmet and ran a hand through her hair. It had grown longer than she liked. She made a mental note to talk to Liebgott about it. With a small smile, she leaned forward. “You should’ve seen their faces when they realized I was a woman, though. It was hilarious.”

Dick gave a small laugh. “I’m sure.”

A few minutes of silence followed. Alice watched out the window as men of Easy and the British evaders filed into the largest of the barns nearby. The lights went on and cheers and laughter could be heard over in the attic work space. Only the sound of footsteps on the stairs nearby pulled her attention away.

“There you are.” Nixon pointed at her and then took a drink of his flask. “Should’ve known you’d try to convince this miserable old coot to cheer up.” At their smiles, he nodded down the stairs. “C’mon, the party’s starting.”

“Go,” Dick urged her. “Someone needs to keep him in check.”

“I resent that.”

Alice laughed. “Of course you do.” With a last, long look at Dick slaving over his notebook and typewriter, she sighed. “Fine. But you better sleep, too.”

“Yes mother,” Nixon chimed in. “Come on. Before they take all the good drinks.”

“I’m serious, Dick.”

“Alice, go!”

She just threw her arms upwards in protest and followed Nixon down the stairs. Together they strolled across the grass. The noise echoing from the barn made her smile. It was nice to see the men of Easy having fun for a change.

“Market Garden is a failure,” Alice said, leaving no room for debate.

“Yes it is.”

“So when are we heading out of Holland?”

Nixon shrugged. “We’re looking at another month, probably. At least until whoever ends up replacing us in defense is at enough strength.”

“We’re already spread thin as it is,” she grumbled.

He nodded. Nixon knew it as well as she did. There was nothing more to say, though, as they reached the barn door and went inside. At the front, a few of the Red Devils including Colonel Dobie himself stood with drinks in hand. Over the next several hours, the men of Easy and the 1st Airborne shared drinks and laughs. Harry got totally drunk, to the point where both Nixon and Alice had to help him back to bed. After that, she called it a night as well. With dreams of someday soon getting out of Holland, she slept.


	66. Chapter Sixty Six

**December 1, 1944**   
_Mourmelon-le-Grand, Marne, France_

* * *

One month. It had been one month since friend and commanding officer Moose Heyliger had been shot repeatedly by one of his own allies. As Alice stood at the window in the room she occupied in the Camp de Châlons, in Mourmelon-le-Grand right outside Reims, she sipped at a glass of wine to calm her thoughts. She hadn’t been with Dick and Moose when it had happened, but she’d been with Harry and Dick after the fact. The former had spent hours drinking, the latter had spent hours in conference with Colonel Sink.

After Moose’s emergency evacuation to the hospital, Harry had been in charge of Easy in the interim. Alice had found herself trying to aid him as much as possible, as in addition to the two of them, they only had Shames and Peacock. Down two officers, nerves frayed.

Then, in mid November, they’d gotten their new CO. Lieutenant Norman Dike, formerly of Division Headquarters company, had come in fresh from off the line. By the time they’d left for France, the men had already started calling him Foxhole Norman. Alice had shut George up real quick when she’d first heard it, but she knew they’d spread it around.

It didn’t help the Company’s opinion of him when, not two days after getting off the line, Alice had been reassigned to aid Dick and Nixon at Battalion. As much as she tried to assure the men that it hadn’t been Dike’s idea, she knew a large part of the reason she’d been removed was, in fact, the new CO.

He hadn’t made it a secret that he didn’t quite respect or trust her. For the first time since early training, Alice began to hear the whispers of ‘Nazi’ behind her back. They received dozens of new replacements and with a CO who didn’t support her, it had been up to herself and the NCOs to discipline their idle gossip.

Unfortunately, the quick removal of her to Battalion staff, although being framed as a promotion by Colonel Sink, didn’t help the new men’s opinions of her. So as Alice stood in her warm bedroom, sipping wine and watching what looked to be F Company lining up as the sun rose, she just sighed. She closed her eyes. The sunlight flooded her room, warming the skin on her face.

She was home again. And not just on the soil, on the ground of her home. But her home was free. France was free. The words that Charles de Gaulle had spoken at the liberation of Paris reared through her ears. _“...liberated by its people with the help of the French armies, with the support and the help of all France, of the France that fights, of the only France, of the real France, of the eternal France!”_

The real France. Alice smiled, opening her eyes, and gazing out at the tarmac of the Camp de Châlons in the early morning. And more than that, being back in France and on R&R meant she was within arms reach of Paris.

Alice turned away from the window. She looked down at herself. Still clothed in her sleeveless top and sleep shorts, she realized it was about time to get dressed for the day. Placing the glass of wine on her wooden side table, Alice pulled off her shirt and shorts and changed into clean fatigues. She left her sleepwear on her bed before downing the last of the wine and heading out.

Once she reached ground level, Alice moved past the gathered Fox Company. Able, Baker, and Charlie Companies had been sent on leave to Paris, but the rest of the 506th still roamed around Mourmelon or in the nearby towns. With so many men around, they’d set up plenty of places for socializing like cinemas and bars.

As she strolled along the paths of the military camp, Alice tried to locate anyone she knew. Dick and Nixon had been holed up with their various commanders and staff since returning to friendly territory. And thanks to his recent promotion to executive officer of HQ Company, Harry took most of the day getting to know his men and fellow officers.

More and more, when Alice spent time with the enlisted, the more she saw them withdrawing into themselves, especially the Toccoa men. Not that it kept her from their ranks. If anything, the more time she ended up apart from the enlisted, the more fun she had when back with them.

“Want a cigarette?”

Alice felt her heart jump into her throat at the sudden voice. She whipped around. “Ron Speirs, do not sneak up on me.”

The man suppressed a smile as he stood, smoking, not far from her. He leaned against a brick wall, his arms over his chest and fog from a combination of his breath in the chill air and smoke wafted around him. She moved over to him and accepted the proffered smoke.

“How do you like being in Battalion,” he asked.

Alice rolled her eyes as she turned her head to face him. “You know the answer to that.”

“Well, at least you don’t have to deal with Easy’s new idiot commanding officer.”

“Keep your voice down,” she hissed.

But Ron just shrugged. He looked around. No one was nearby to listen, and even if they had, frankly he didn’t care. “Mark my words, he’s going to screw something up.” He shook his head again and took out his cigarette. “It’s the men who trained in Toccoa who are going to hold Easy together. Your NCOs are fantastic.”

“Yeah. They are.”

They fell into silence again. Puffs of smoke filled the air around them. Before getting to France, she hadn’t seen Ron more than in passing in well over a month. Having him as a smoking buddy again was nice.

Her mind wandered back to Lieutenant Dike. Even though the Colonel told her she answered to Battalion, he hadn’t told her not to spend time with Easy. Peacock didn’t mind having her around, and neither did Shames. The new First Lieutenant Jack Foley, he didn’t seem to mind her either, which was nice. Just Dike, he was the issue.

When she and Ron split ways a little while later, she continued on her search for more familiar faces. Several Toccoa men from Dog nodded her way, even a few saluting, as she passed. She returned the gesture.

Half an hour later, Alice found them. Easy Company stood at attention before Lieutenant Dike, looking decidedly annoyed. The fresh faces of the new replacements contrasted starkly with the genuine annoyance of the veterans, especially Toccoa men like Liebgott, Toye, and even Talbert. Lipton looked to be doing his best to keep his cool despite the obvious disregard the others showed.

Alice stood a ways behind Dike. It only took a few minutes of quiet watching as the CO spoke before the men started to notice her. Bull noticed her first, a small smile tugging at his lips as she made eye contact with him and rolled her eyes. It didn’t take long before most of the men had stopped their half listening of Dike’s speech and instead looked to her.

He dismissed them five minutes later. Peacock, Foley, and Shames all turned around immediately, trying to see what the men had been looking at. Alice just smiled back. Dike, however, had no idea they’d even not been listening. Once he’d walked away, she moved towards the men.

“I can’t fucking tell what he’s saying, ever,” Liebgott muttered. “Words are flooding out of his mouth and they don’t mean anything.”

“Lieb,” Alice warned.

But he just let out a light laugh. “You’re lucky you don’t deal with him.”

Alice sighed. She shook her head. “Trust me, I’d rather be back in Easy than with Battalion. Even if it meant putting up with him.”

More and more of the guys meandered over. After a moment, she caught sight of Moe Alley and grinned. “Alley! When did you get back?”

“This morning, just in time to meet the new joke,” he said, moving over. When Liebgott started snickering, he just shrugged. “He isn’t Sobel… but he isn’t much better.”

They all heartily agreed. Alice looked around in concern. They still stood in the open, closer than she would’ve liked to a lot of the brass. Not that she disagreed with them.

Their lack of decorum brought Bill Guarnere to her thoughts. Easy felt a lot less loud with him still in the hospital. Ever since their arrival at Mourmelon-le-Grand, she’d been formulating a plan to make right on the trip to Paris she’d promised back in training. But she needed Bill back to do it.

That night, Alice decided to get the ball rolling and just hope that Bill got back in time to participate. She, Harry, Nixon, and Ron sat around a circular wooden table in Dick’s flat while the man in question sat reading. Five card draw the game of choice, the bets kept getting higher and higher. Having already won about forty dollars, now losing fifteen of that if she didn’t win, Alice decided to fold.

“I’m out,” she muttered. Alice threw down her cards, Taking her cigarette from her mouth, she downed a drink of wine. “Good luck.”

Nixon and Ron faced off with each other. As they continued to play, both the epitome of cool, calm, and collected, Alice just stepped away from the table to get another drink. As she walked back, standing next to Nixon’s chair, Alice sipped at it.

“So, Nix,” she started. “If I wanted to go about getting, oh I don’t know, four forty-eight hour passes to Paris, who would I talk to.”

He glanced up at her, away from his cards. “Depends. When do you need them by, and when do I start packing?”

Alice laughed and shook her head. She sat back down. “You’re not invited.”

“Nixon, match the bet or fold,” Ron said.

He turned from her to the man across from him. He threw another four bucks into the center of the table. “I call.” When Ron showed a full house, he cursed and sat back.

Ron took the money with a small smile. “Thank you very much.”

“Nix. Passes.”

He turned to her, throwing his cards to her for her to deal. “When do you need them by?”

“Within the next week or so.”

“I’ll talk to Colonel Sink,” he told her. “We might be able to get you some. Why don’t you just go ask him yourself?”

She sighed, shuffling. “Honestly? I’m sick and tired of dealing with people who outrank me.”

Everyone in the room started laughing, even Dick from where he sat with his book. But she wasn’t lying. Alice didn’t have the patience for the red tape of the Army, she never had. And the longer she had to deal with it, the more she hated it.

“I’ll get you the passes,” Nixon said. He looked at his new hand. With a sigh, he shook his head. “And next time, deal me some decent cards.”


	67. Chapter Sixty Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice finally goes home.

Alice grinned down at the four passes she’d just received from Nixon. She’d left him and Harry to go on an inquisition to force Dick to go to Paris too, as he needed a break more than anyone. Confident in their ability to get Dick to take time off, she walked off with a smile. Things had fallen into place rather easily. With all the Commanding Officers, from Strayer to Sink all the way up to General Taylor, off in various areas of the world far from Mourmelon-le-Grand, Nixon had easily gotten her the four, along with passes for himself and for Dick.

With the slips of paper tucked safely in her breast pocket, Alice hurried to grab lunch before finding the men she needed. The food tasted horrible, like cardboard. But as he walked out of the mess hall, her heart nearly stopped.

“Bill!” Her grin widened as he turned to look her way. She noticed his limp immediately. But it didn’t stop her from hurrying over and grabbing him in a hug. “You’re back!”

With a laugh, he shook his head. “Hey sweetheart, guess ya’ missed me?”

“It’s been a lot more quiet without you around, that’s for sure.” She looked at him closer. “How are you already up and around? You got shot and broke your leg!”

Bill scoffed. “I ain’t gonna sit in a fuckin hospital for the rest of the war. I told the doctors that and made my way ‘ere.”

“They just let you walk out?”

He smirked. “Nah. Some fuckin’ lieutenant busted me to private for going AWOL, but nobody around these parts knows that, so keep your mouth shut, yeah?”

She snorted but nodded. “I’m not going to report you. But let’s pretend you didn’t tell me.”

“Deal.” 

They started off towards Easy barracks. As they walked, Bill looked around, appraising the place. Alice stuck by his side. After a moment, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper.

“Hey, you’ve not heard of a joint called Lulu’s, have ya? None of the boys talked about it?” He looked over at her as he limped along. “I been tryin’ to find out about it.”

Alice just grinned and shook her head. “Forget Lulu’s. I’ve got something better.”

“Better?” He let out a short laugh. “It better be good cause I heard whatever this Lulu’s is is fucking fantastic.”

“Trust me. It’s better than anything you’ve got planned.”

He watched her in suspicion as they approached Easy’s barracks. A chorus of voices spilled even from their quarters. When the door opened, she grinned to see the men she wanted amongst the guys inside. George looked her way.

“No fuckin’ way.” George started laughing as he looked past her. “Hey, boys! Gonorrhea’s back!”

Alice stood to the side, leaning against the wall, while the men welcomed Bill back amongst them. Within minutes the barracks had filled with stories and complaints of Foxhole Norman. She waited for them to settle down before picking her way through the men over to George. She leaned over and whispered for him to meet her outside.

George looked at her in confusion but didn’t protest. Once he’d folded from the poker match, he shuffled out the door. Alice soon had told Joe Toye and Guarnere the same. Once they were all outside, she picked her way out as well.

“What’s up?” George asked, pulling out a cigarette.

Trying to suppress her grin as much as she could, Alice reached into her pocket. With a flourish, she pulled out the papers. She handed one to each. “Pack your bags, boys. We’re going to Paris.”

“You fucking serious?” Bill stared from the paper to Alice. “Now?”

She smiled and nodded. “We’re leaving after dinner. Nix got us train tickets, too.”

“Holy shit,” George muttered. Then he started laughing. “Let’s go!”

“I told you boys I’d take you to Paris. It was only a matter of time,” she added. “But I swear, if I catch any of you gloating to the others, I’ll take your passes away.” With a nod, she couldn’t stop her smiling. “We’ll take a Jeep into Reims, and from Reims, take the train to Paris.”

As George and Bill hurried inside, Joe just shook his head. He waved the paper in the air. “If we’d known getting Bill back was what it took to get passes to Paris, we’d have broken him out earlier.”

Alice laughed. “Go.”

Joe Toye followed the other guys back into the barracks. Left on the grass outside, Alice just continued to smile at the closed door. Her heart raced. She wanted to sing. Paris stood within sight. She’d be going home.

The one stipulation to her being allowed on a 48 hour pass was that, once again, Alice could not show her affiliation with the army. So she wore the one piece of civilian clothing she’d brought with her: her blue shirred dress. Nixon had been into Reims with Harry the day before and offered to pick up shoes, so dressed to the nines in her finest civilian wear, she waited for the boys by the jeep depot. The sun had just dipped below the horizon. She shivered.

Finally they arrived. Alice told the private driving the jeep where to take them. Soon she climbed up into the front, leaving the others to fit as best they could.

“Hey watch your leg, fucking hell,” Joe snapped.

But Guarnere just scoffed. “Your leg? I’m the one who got shot!”

She rolled her eyes in the dark, facing forward. But a small smile graced her features. Nothing they could do would make her any less excited about the trip. Before long, they raced off towards Reims.

Quite a few officers of the Airborne had come to Reims. Marlene Deitrich had come to Reims to entertain the troops, a show absolutely no one wanted to miss. But they had a date with a train, not a music hall. And so as they were dropped off at the station, Alice took a moment to just breathe. Around her, she heard conversations in french, something she’d not experienced even during the Normandy invasion. This was the free France, the real France.

But even seeing Reims up close didn’t prepare her heart for the impact of Paris.

When the train pulled into the station that had been newly restored by the Allies, she forgot all about George and Joe and Bill. As soon as she’d grabbed her suitcase, she hurried out the door. Before her, reddish-brown bricks steps led up into the night. A dozen servicemen pushed past her as she stood rooted to the spot.

Alice tried not to think. Putting one foot in front of the other, she hurried up the steps. When her feet hit the sidewalk, her breathing stopped.

White-tan stone buildings reared up behind her and to the side. Lamp posts lined the streets. Men and women roamed up and down the sidewalks, chatting in dialects she’d only dreamed of since 1942. This was Paris. This was home.

Tears filled her eyes. A strange amalgamation of nostalgia, excitement, and solemn sadness knotted up her stomach. She forced herself to breathe. She felt, rather than saw, her traveling companions catch up.

“Welcome to Paris,” Alice choked out. 

The men with her didn’t say anything. All of them knew how bittersweet, how overwhelming, standing on the street in view of the River Seine, felt for her. She didn’t move for another minute. Alice stood transfixed, her mind and body and heart all fighting for control in that moment. But finally she wiped away a single tear and nodded.

“Right, uh. We’ve got rooms in a hotel not far from here.” Alice shook herself. “Come on.”

They started off down the sidewalk along the cobbled street. They took it slow. Bill insisted his leg didn’t hurt, that he could keep up, but even he couldn’t keep the pain entirely off his face. Alice didn’t mind though. The slow pace allowed her time to think. 

The little things made her the most emotional. For one, not a single woman or man that she passed wore a hastily sewn Star of David. No more red arm bands around black Nazi uniforms, either. The swastikas had been replaced by flags of the Allies. The flag of France flew the highest and the proudest. Music, French music, floated out of bar windows. And, above all, people smiled.

Alice nearly cried after speaking to the hotel workers in French. It made her happier than she could describe that the language came back instantly. Unlike the Dutch, which had faded, nothing could take away her mother tongue. No amount of time away could do that.

She could hear the others chatting together as they got into the elevator to their rooms. When it reached the floor, she handed Joe a key. “George, you’ve lucked out. We’ve got one room, you two have the other.” Coming to stand the door for Joe and Bill, she nodded. “I’ll come get you two in the morning.”

“Right.” Joe nodded. “Come on.”

When they’d ducked inside, she turned to George. With a smile, she pointed down the hall. They stopped before a door at the other end. She turned the key.

When they stepped inside, they found two small beds, a couple of chairs, and a bathroom off the main area. Wooden floors were covered by a couple of rugs. On the far end, a balcony opened onto the streets of Paris. Alice went there first. She dropped her bag and slipped off her shoes by her bed. Opening the door to the balcony, Alice stepped out.

A cold breeze hit her in the face, Alice pulled off her beret and let it mess with her hair. She closed her eyes. In the distance, a police siren went off. Closer, she heard laughter and voices at street level. Her bare feet began to freeze, though, and soon she had to step back inside.

“Feels good, eh?” George asked her through his newly lit cigarette. He watched her with a smile. “Guess you’re finally home.”

She let out a quiet laugh, emotion constricting her throat. “Almost four years. Four years.”

“But you’re here.”

“Yeah. Yeah I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally the only good thing about this virus pandemic is that I had an entire day to dedicate to this. We're maybe 5-7 chapters to the end now. And then we move on to book two of the duology!


	68. Chapter Sixty Eight

Alice had them all up and out on the street by 0900 hours. The sun shone bright, not a cloud in the. Despite the chilly air, the walk to breakfast wasn’t unpleasant. As they walked, Alice alternated between just gazing around in wonder and telling them about what they saw around them. She took them to the Champs-Élysées.

“There is nothing like it,” she said. As they finally turned onto the main avenue of Paris, she stopped. Despite the crowds of Parisians and servicemen alike, the Arc de Triomphe reared up at the far end, in plain sight. 

“That’s a hell of a monument,” Joe said. “How big is that?”

“Big,” George added.

Alice laughed. “Yes. It is quite big.”

“Eh, Statue ‘a Liberty’s better,” Bill added. He winked when Alice turned to him, annoyed.

They moved along the side of the street. Alice watched the boys marvel at the sheer size of the sidewalks. They were like streets themselves. It took awhile, but soon they had found a cafe and ordered drinks and food. While Joe grabbed a table outside, Alice did her best not to abandon the other two in favor of chatting up the Parisian waiters. 

Once they sat down with their breakfast out on the promenade, she turned back to them. That said oddly quiet. When they met her gaze, she saw them smirking. “What?” 

George and Bill started cracking up. Confused, she turned to Joe. He just smirked and shook his head. She demanded what was so funny.

“You ain’t payin’ attention to us, sweetheart, you’re all ears for this place.” Bill shook his head, smirking.

“You’re getting back that fantastic accent, too,” George added.

Alice felt herself starting to blush. She just shook her head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Sorry.”

Joe shook his head. “You ain’t gotta apologize.”

George and Bill echoed his sentiments. As they turned to talk with each other over various matters, Alice decided to people-watch. She hadn’t told them yet, but the cafe meant more to her than they suspected. She and her University friends had used it as a meeting place during the occupation. Being back, people-watching, it felt fantastic.

They went on like that for an hour at least. As her three friends would ask questions about Paris, she would answer honestly and earnestly. But between their questions, she just sat and reveled in the moment. Just as they prepared to head out for the day, to walk more of the streets of Paris, her heart nearly stopped.

“Adélaïde? Est-ce vous?”

She froze. She knew that man’s voice. Alice whipped around, trying to catch a glimpse of the face she knew belonged to it. The boys with her shouted after her as she pushed her way through the stream of people walking along the Champs-Élysées. But then she saw him.

She saw his dark hair, a bit messy on his head. He had never cared enough to keep it straight, and it looked good unkempt anyways. When she met his gaze, his brown eyes locked onto her. A massive grin spread across his face.

“Jean-Luc!” She nearly cried as she grabbed him in a hug. “Tu es en vie!”

“Adélaïde! Nous pensions que vous étiez mort.” He stood back from her, covering his mouth. “Mon Dieu. Tu es en vie.”

She laughed through her tears. Yes, she was alive. And here he was, her brothers’ best friend, alive as well. Alice nearly broke down as she grabbed him again.

“Comment tu es en vie? Qui sont-ils?” 

At Jean-Luc’s question, Alice pulled back. She looked behind herself. Sure enough, Bill, George, and Joe picked their way over. She nearly laughed at how confused and almost wary they looked.

“Ce sont mes amis d'Amérique.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. When the other three reached her, she sighed. “A lot has happened, Jean-Luc. We can’t talk about it here.”

He looked at her closely and nodded. He switched to English as well, his accent much thicker than hers. “Right. Come. Marie will want to see you.” He looked the paratroopers up and down. “I am Jean-Luc Beaulieu.”

“These are Sergeants George Luz, Bill Guarnere, and Joe Toye,” Alice said. “Paratroopers.”

As they shook his hand, Jean-Luc turned to Alice. “Parachutistes? Comment les connaissez-vous?”

Alice laughed and shook her head. “Not here. I promise to answer all your questions when we’re not in the open.”

He shrugged his shoulders with a smile. “Very well. Any friend of Adélaïde is a friend of ours. Come.”

It shocked her just how quiet even George was able to stay while they followed behind Jean-Luc. Alice could see them bursting at the seams with questions. But they held their tongues even as Jean-Luc wove through backstreets from the Champs-Élysées further into Paris. After about fifteen minutes, they came to the base of an apartment building that Alice recognized immediately. Again, she froze in place. But Jean-Luc pushed her forward.

They took the stairs to the third floor. With a quick movement, Jean-Luc pulled out a key and pushed the door open. He shouted in French, to which a female voice replied. Alice had another mini heart attack. Bill bumped into her as she stopped in the doorway. She muttered an apology and moved further in.

“Si vous plaisantez, Jean-Luc, je vais vous tuer moi-même!” As the rant stopped, a woman came around the corner with light brown hair in a braid, wiping her hands on an apron. When she saw Alice, though, she fell totally silent. After a moment, she managed to squeak out, “Adélaïde?”

“Salut, Marie.” 

“Adélaïde!”

They met in the middle of the flat, laughing and crying all at the same time.Their voices rattled on endlessly, leaving the American paratroopers at a total loss. When they finally broke apart from their hug, Marie looked past her.

“Where the hell have you been?” Marie finally demanded, dropping into English when she noticed the other three were Americans. “Where the hell have you been all this time! When we found out Marc had been killed, and you and Robert went missing, we assumed they’d gotten you, too!”

Pain crossed her face. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. We didn’t have time to say goodbye.” Alice turned to the three paratroopers. “These are my friends. They’re part of the 101st Airborne Division. We’re part of the 101st Airborne Division.”

“We?” Jean-Luc turned from her to them in surprise. “How?”

Alice proceeded to explain what had happened between that last night in Paris over three years ago and her return the night before. Most of it the Paratroopers knew. But as they settled at a table, tea in hand, they listened carefully whenever Alice went on to explain events they weren’t privy to.

“We cannot thank you enough,” Marie said, turning to the other three. “You helped us rid this land of the Nazis. Nothing can repay you for that.”

“Just doing what’s right,” Joe replied.

Jean-Luc nodded. “She’s right, though. Free France owes America it’s life.”

As Bill went to respond, they heard a key turn and the door to the front pushed open. A woman with golden-brown hair pushed inside, taking off her beret. She placed her bags of food on the floor.

“Juliette. Salut!” Alice called over.

The woman froze in her motion. Straightening back up slowly, she audibly gasped when she saw Alice standing before her. With a small scream, she ran over and hugged and kissed Alice. Rambling on in French, the three who could understand her started laughing.

“Speak English, please,” Alice said with a laugh. “My friends do not know French.”

Juliette looked at them for the first time. She cocked her head before smiling. “Ah, so you have met the Americans. Welcome to Paris.” Then she looked back at Alice. “Ces trois sont tout à fait la capture, Adélaïde.”

Alice started cracking up. Of course her first observation would be the attractiveness of the three. But she shook her head. “No, Juliette.”

But the woman just smirked. As Alice gave a shortened version of what she’d just been telling the others, Juliette watched the paratroopers in renewed fascination. As the story came to a close, she smiled at George, Bill, and Joe.

“So, how exactly do ya know each other?” Bill asked a moment later. “Now you know us.”

Jean-Luc gave a small laugh. “I’ve known the Kleins since they first moved here,” he said.

“He and my brothers were inseparable,” Alice added.

He nodded, frowning. “I should’ve been there. I could’ve kicked some sense into Marc. Or killed a few Nazis myself.”

After several moments of silence, Alice turned to the two women. “Juliette and Marie both took classes with me. All four of us worked against the Nazis as best we could. Pamphlets, rallies.”

“We did what small part we could,” Juliette agreed. “Not much, but it was something.”

George nodded. He pointed to Alice. “She told us all about the Resistance here. We couldn’t have succeeded on D-Day without France’s underground.”

All three of the Parisians brightened up at his words. Alice, George, Bill, and Joe stayed for lunch. The three men stayed relatively quiet, something that Alice decided to thank them for later, allowing her the hours to try to reconnect with her old friends. Talk ranged everywhere from paratrooper training to Holland to even what the Americans were enjoying of France.

After a couple hours, Alice excused herself from the table Taking her plate into the kitchen, she took a few moments to collect herself. An overwhelming amount of emotions crashed down on her, from relief to shock to fear and depression. When Jean-Luc walked in a minute later, she tried to smile. It failed. 

“I tried to get them out,” he said quietly. “I went to your parents’ apartment once I heard they had cracked down on finding Jews. By the time I got there, they were gone. I’m sorry.”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. “I knew you’d try, if you were still alive. So much has happened. So many horrible things,” she added. “Thank you, for your hospitality for my friends.”

“Of course. A friend of yours may as well be family to us,” he added.

With a sad smile, she just shook her head. Alice sighed. “Those three out there, and a dozen other men like them back in Mourmelon-le-Grand, they’re the closest I have to family these days. They mean everything to me.”

“They seem like good men. I’ll break their limbs if they hurt you, though,” he added. With a laugh, he smiled at her impatient expression. “Not that you probably couldn’t, since you’re a Paratrooper and all.”

“They’re the best.”

He nodded. “Good. But I have a responsibility to protect you now that your brothers are gone. If they were here, they’d kick my ass for not having found you sooner.”

“I was doing my best not to be found,” she reminded him.

Jean-Luc agreed. He took a deep breath and then sighed. “We should probably get back in there before Juliette tries to get one to go dancing with her, though. She’s been quite excited about the number of soldiers in Paris these days, now that they aren’t Nazis.

She nodded. After Jean-Luc pulled her into one more hug, she followed him back towards the group. When they got there, Juliette had already started flirting with not one, but all three, and she just had to smile. She was home.


	69. Chapter Sixty Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends! This is the last chapter of this first half of the duology. Chapter One of book two, Humanity of the Broken, should be out today or tomorrow. Thanks for spending time with me in this crazy roller coaster of emotions that was this fic, and I can't wait to bring you more.

Alice knew George would kill her for this. So would Bill and Joe too. George would probably start a search party for her as soon as he read the note after his nap. But she had to do this, and she had to do it alone.

Her pulse quickened as she stood outside the small yet lively nightclub. A sign hung above the heavy, black door with script in red and white: La Maison Rouge. Jean-Luc would probably kill her too, for coming back to the place that started it all, and by herself no less. But she had to.

Light flooded out from the crack under the door and a pair of windows to the left. She could hear music too. With a deep breath, Alice moved her trembling hand to the doorknob. It opened inwards and she was met immediately with the raucous noise of celebrating youths and clinking drinks. She stepped inside.

The room looked different, and yet altogether the same. No more Nazi flags forced to hang from the walls, replaced instead of the red, white, and blue of France. She saw the words ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’ painted on a board and nailed above the main bar. 

The jukebox radio still sat in the same place, to the right of the door close to the bar. Instead of the occasional Germans, Americans and British mingled with the Parisian citizens. There was a lot more laughter in the Maison Rouge than she remembered. 

With her fingers, Alice traced a gouged indent in the wooden wallboard to the right of the door. Her hand trembled when she pulled away. The Maison Rouge had always been a small place, intimate. Whenever the Nazis had stopped in, she and the others had been enraged. 

Alice walked further in, past the dozen tables to her left. Her eyes caught the photographs still hanging along the right hand wall. A small smile graced her features. Soon she came to stop by the bar. She went to ask for a glass of wine, but the words stuck. So she ordered whiskey instead. The old man, white haired and wrinkled, smiled and nodded. Soon she held the glass.

Alice continued back further into the bar. The short hallway to the back rooms filled with cigarette smoke, darkened by the lack of light. But it opened again on the left, with another large room with twenty tables and a dance space. Alice stood at the doorway and watched soldiers and civilians fraternizing. They looked so happy, so carefree. 

As she turned from the dance room, Alice looked ahead. The door to the back office store room stood slightly ajar. Her breath caught in her throat. 

_“We just need to ask you a few questions, mademoiselle.”_

She stopped in her tracks, several meters from the door. Her eyes squeezed shut. Giving herself a few moments to breathe, she moved forward.

_“You were seen in the company of Herr Shultz just a night before plans went missing from his person. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Miss Klein?”_

“No,” Alice whispered. 

She stood before the doorway. Her heart pounded in her chest as she moved a hand towards the door and pushed it further open. It did so silently. She reached inside to the right of the door and flipped on the light switch. 

Once inside, Alice looked to her right. Her whole body trembled. Tracks from desperate fingernails still lay in the wooden paneling. Her nails, her struggle, her body. Her stomach churned. Alice placed her fingers on the scratches.

_“Do you know what we do to Germans who betray the Fatherland?”_

Alice shuddered. Her body felt as though someone had shoved ice down her clothes. She turned away. The window in the back of the room, some ten feet from her, still had no drapes or blinds. The darkness of night reared up behind the glass. Trying to maintain her breathing, Alice shot one last look at the scratches in the wood paneling before ducking back out.

As she stalked down the hall and past the bar, Alice set her empty whiskey glass down with an extra tip. Her trembling hands grabbed the door and pulled it open. Soon she stood out on the street, freezing in the December air, trying to stop her tears.

She took out a cigarette. With the warmth of the smoke and the nicotine to calm herself, she stood beside the door. Breathe in, breathe out. So focused on her breathing, Alice didn’t even see Nixon until he spoke to her.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he said. Grinning around the cigarette he tried to light, he moved of towards her. “People might start talking.”

“What the… what the hell are you doing here?” Alice looked at him in abject confusion. “I thought you were going to Aldbourne with your pass?”

Nixon’s smile dropped. He stuck his left hand in his pocket and took out his cigarette with his right. “Yeah, Blanche was going to meet me. But she’s not doing well right now so she went back to the States early.”

Alice looked at him in concern. This was the first she’d heard of his sister in awhile. “What do you mean? Is she sick?”

He brushed it off with a shrug. “Just isn’t doing well. I figured I’d just crash Dick’s R&R.” His gaze traveled to the door and sign of the Maison Rouge. Then he glanced back at her. “I wanted to check this place out myself. What are you doing here?”

Her whole body tensed. Alice took the cigarette from her mouth and tapped away some ashes. “I just needed to see it again.”

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed. Shivering, she shook her head. Her voice fell. “I don’t know.”

Nixon looked at her for a while. Then he glanced around. “Where are Guarnere, Toye, and Luz?”

“They don’t know I’m here,” she admitted.

He laughed less out of amusement and more because he’d suspected as much. With a nod, he gestured down the road. “Come on. Let’s go find Dick and annoy him.”

“Ok.”

Alice wrapped her arms around her body to try and conserve as warmth as possible. A bitter cold breeze bit through their clothes as they walked. Mostly they went along in silence. Trying not to freeze to death, Alice put herself as close to him as possible. 

“I ran into some old friends today.” After ten minutes of walking in silence, she spoke up again. When he looked over in surprise, she gave a nod and a smile. “Jean-Luc. I think I told you about him back in New Jersey? Turns out he’s alive, and two of our other friends, his fiancee Marie and her cousin, Juliette.”

“They’re doing well?” he asked.

“Seems so.” She paused for a moment. “Honestly I never expected to find people I knew still alive. Leaving is going to be very hard now. They’re basically family.”

“Yeah.”

Alice sighed. “Paris is far from perfect, though. And I’m not sure…”

When she trailed off, Nixon looked over to her. Her face was drawn and she just stared ahead. He frowned. “What?”

“I don’t think I could leave you, and Easy Company.”

So caught up in her thoughts, was she, that Alice didn’t even register Nixon stop in his tracks. She just continued on, arms crossed. Quickly he caught back up.

“Dick’s staying up ahead.” He said. Lighting a new cigarette, he followed her through the door of the hotel. “Room 312. Go up ahead, I’ve gotta do one more thing.”

She looked at him quizzically but nodded. Alice stepped into the elevator and took it up. Leaving Nixon behind to complete whatever task needed his attention, she disappeared.

When she knocked on Room 312, it took a few minutes before Dick Winters opened the door. Even he couldn’t hide his surprise. “Alice!”

“Nixon’s here. He sent me up first,” she said, smiling at his shock. “He seems intent on bothering you and I happened along for the ride.”

Dick scoffed but nodded. Stepping aside, he let her in. He wore a loose shirt and shorts. The room she found herself in stretched on forever, it seemed. A wonderful bed sat on the left, and to the right, a bathroom with a porcelain tub. She looked back at him with a smile.

“Quite a nice place, Captain,” she teased.

Dick went to respond, but a knock at the door pulled him away. Soon enough, Nixon stood inside with them, pulling off his coat.

“Couldn’t let me have some alone time, could you,” Dick asked.

Nixon scoffed. “Please. Your life would be so boring without me.” Then he turned to Alice. “I sent a message to the three musketeers who are likely trying to find you.”

She at least had the decency to look sheepish. “Thanks.”

They settled around the table in the small hotel flat. For a few hours, Alice went on to tell them about Jean-Luc, Marie, and Juliette, and about the days when their only cares had been what to wear to school. So caught up in her stories, Alice didn’t notice the way Nixon watched her, but Dick did, and he made a mental note of it.

But after a few hours, as midnight had come and gone, she looked at her watch with a sigh. “If I don’t show my face to those three before dawn, they may actually kill me, despite you sending them a heads up, Nixon.” With a nod, she stood from the table. “Enjoy tomorrow. It’ll be back to Foxhole Norman in no time.”

Nixon cracked up, and Dick just shook his head at the slur she used against the Easy Company CO. Before she could head out, Dick told Nixon to go walk her to a cab since he was not dressed for such things.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile. 

As they walked to the taxi line, Nixon handed her another cigarette. She grinned and accepted the light he then offered. Before long, they stood before a cab.

“Don’t let them beat you up to bad,” he said. “At least get a few punches in.”

Alice laughed. “Definitely.”

They paused for a moment before Alice ducked inside the car. She spoke to the driver, giving her hotel address. With a last wave at Nixon, the car sped off.

When at last she stood outside the hotel room she and George shared, Alice cringed to herself. The key turned quickly. It didn’t surprise her in the least to find George, Bill, and Joe all sitting around one of the beds playing cards, cigarettes filling the room with smoke.

“Fucking hell!” Joe shouted as she came in.

At exactly the same time, Bill cursed as well. “Jesus Christ. Where the fuck ‘ave you been?”

She flinched back. “Sorry. There was something I had to do.”

“And then you went and spent time with Captain Nixon?” George added. He looked at her with a smirk.

“We ran into each other. I went with him to see Captain Winters,” she bit back. “Now either deal me in or get the hell out so I can take a bath and go to bed.”

“Fine, fine. Jesus,” Bill muttered. “Joe, deal her in.”

They spent another hour playing poker before Alice did send Bill and Joe back to their own room. After a warm bath, she climbed into her bed. Tomorrow they would go see Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and any other location she could think to bring them.

And that’s what they did. After grabbing lunch with Alice’s three Parisian friends, they wandered around Paris. It was with a heavy heart that they boarded the train back to Mourmelon-le-Grand that night. None of them wanted to go back to reality, to the war.

As Alice boarded the train car, she waved to her friends on the platform. For a moment she genuinely considered stepping back off. She could make another life, a new life, in liberated Paris. She could start over. She could stay home.

But she couldn’t. Only one half of her home was free. Only one half of her heart. No matter how much she enjoyed Free France, she knew she’d never feel whole without setting foot in a Free Germany. And though her friends offered her a solace she knew, as much as she loved Jean-Luc and Juliette and Marie, the men of Easy were not a group she could abandon like that.

Not after years of slaving together to win this war. Alice couldn’t leave that, no matter how hard she found it to shoot at her own countrymen or walk into the land that had tried to destroy her people. And beyond that, even if she could leave the cause, Alice knew one thing. She couldn’t leave the people. She couldn’t leave her family.

* * *

_**Fin** _

**Up Next: Humanity of the Broken**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See one-shot "A Martyr for Love" for a Nixon perspective on the events of this chapter


End file.
